Small Business Trends Magazine - October 2015

OCT 2015

MARKETING EDITION

The magazine for successful small business owners

SOCIAL MEDIA: 26 WAYS TO SAVE TIME 7 Mobile Marketing Tips for Small Business

25 Ideas

for Effective Instagram Marketing

How to Get

Media Coverage

Stop Doing These 15 Things on

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Spotlight:

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ReachLocal Lets You Find Customers SmallBizTrends.com Near You

MARKETING EDITION

The magazine for successful small business owners

SOCIAL MEDIA: 26 WAYS TO SAVE TIME

Publisher's Letter

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Editor's Report

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Cover story

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7 Mobile Marketing Tips for Small Business

25 Ideas

For Effective Instagram Marketing

How to Get

Media Coverage

OCT 2015

Stop Doing These 15 Things on

Facebook

Spotlight:

ReachLocal Finds You Customers Near You

CEO and Publisher Anita Campbell Executive Editor Shawn Hessinger Assistant Editor Joshua Sophy Magazine Partnership Chaitra Vedullapalli, Meylah.com

SOCIAL MEDIA: 26 WAYS TO SAVE TIME

Magazine Operations Girish Kerodi Sales and Strategy Tamar Weinberg

Who doesn’t love the “free” aspect of social media? Except it’s not really free. It takes time to do social media marketing, and time is money in business. We show you how to shave off hours of time, save money and become a social media superstar.

COO Staci Wood CTO Leland McFarland Social Media Marketing Amanda Stillwagon AD SALES advertise@smallbiztrends.com

7 Mobile Marketing Tips For Small Bussiness

COPYRIGHT: Copyright © 2015, Small Business Trends, LLC. All rights reserved.

These days people are glued to their mobile devices.

How can you justify NOT tapping into the full potential of mobile marketing?

Images under license from Shutterstock.com, unless otherwise noted.

ADDRESS: Small Business Trends, LLC, 3593 Medina Rd. #160, Medina, OH 44256 Main Phone: 888.842.1186

45+ Tools For Content Curation And Marketing Harness the huge amount of information available today by curating third party content and sharing it. These tools make quick work of it.

EDITORIAL CALENDAR http://sbt.me/3qo

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Stop Doing These 15 Things On Facebook

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Facebook has the highest number of users compared to any other social media platform. Millions of small businesses use it to tap into their target markets. Keep these 15 factors in mind for a successful Facebook strategy.

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29 Proven Ways To Get Media Attention

Viral Marketing? Try Some Chicken Soup for That!

It’s not always easy to get media attention for your business. But our insider secrets written by a seasoned journalist will help with practical pointers.

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25 Tips For Effective Instagram Marketing Instagram has hundreds of millions of enthusiastic users. Find out how businesses are making a splash on this image-based social platform.

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5 Ways To Spread Content, Whatever It Is

Adrienne Weissman Talks Marketing Automation For Small Business

Relying solely on organic traffic might not generate leads! Give your content a boost by using social media to spread the word.

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ReachLocal Lets You Find Customers Near You

Our Small Business Spotlight shines on ReachLocal, a company that helps small businesses find local customers in their immediate area.

Read our fun Spotlight for a glimpse behind the scenes.

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Publisher’s Letter

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..”

That famous opening line by Charles Dickens could apply to the marketing power of the Internet.

On the one hand, our small businesses today have a more level playing field, with access to many of the same marketing tools as much larger corporations. We also can reach wider markets than ever before, becoming global while we’re still startups.

That’s leverage!

But even a “glass half full” optimist like me can see the marketing challenges the Internet has ushered in.

Anita Campbell

Online reviews make monitoring our business reputations a matter of prime importance.

CEO and Publisher @Smallbiztrends

Then there’s the complexity. Marketing online depends on mastering technology tools that may have a steep learning curve. The sheer number of tools is mind-blowing.

And tools and platforms don’t stand still -- we face the challenge of staying up to date.

Those who win at marketing today are those who harness online technology.

That’s why we devoted this month’s issue to marketing tips and tools.

We help you save time with social media, with 26 meaty tips.Then we take a deep dive into advanced strategies for Instagram and Facebook marketing.

Content is king online so we offer 45 tools and apps for content marketing.

And remember, marketing and selling online is just as much an opportunity for service businesses as for product businesses. We share ideas for how to increase your revenue through packaging up and marketing your expertise and services.

And there’s much more -- check it all out.

Wishing you much success

Anita PS, check back for next month’s issue.

For a copy of our Editorial Calendar, visit http://sbt.me/3qo.

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editor’s report

Amazon Takes on Etsy

to mobile phones and tablets, filed for its IPO. Meanwhile, payment processing giant First Data offered public stock again for the first time since the company was privatized in 2007.

It’s gotten so every time you turn around, Amazon is moving into someone else’s market. The handmade crafting market is the latest. Amazon introduced its own Etsy clone, called Handmade at Amazon.

This could be a big deal for selfemployed crafters.

Microsoft and Dell Are Paving Your Way to the Cloud

Microsoft and Dell have entered into a collaboration of interest to small businesses. While Dell provides PCs for the small business market, Microsoft reports signing 50,000 small firms a month to Office 365. Together they deliver combined solutions that are an “onramp to the cloud,” according to one analyst who points out that it’s two trusted brands working together to make it easier for small businesses to run their businesses leanly, using cloud platforms.

YouTube and Instagram Will Let You Sell More Stuff In YouTube’s case, it’s thanks to a service called YouTube Shopping Ads. They let viewers click to learn more about a product or even buy it while still watching the video.

Meanwhile, eCommerce marketing platform Springbot now lets you open a store for your Instagram followers.

And Your Next Product Idea May Come From OuterSpace — Literally!

Well, it may come from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, anyway.

NASA says it’s going to start licensing technology to startups. So if this is something you might be interested in, take a look at the online catalog. And then, take a number!

Welcome to the Age of Payment Processors The

October

1st deadline requiring businesses to accept “chip” credit cards or face higher liability for certain types of fraud, has put a spotlight on the technology that small businesses use to accept payments from customers. Square, the company that revolutionized mobile payments with its small device attached 5

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Bringing it to you straight, fast, and to the point.

Shawn Hessinger

Executive Editor @Shawn_Hessinger |

Oct 2015

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SOCIAL MEDIA:

26 Ways to Save Time Who doesn’t love the “free” aspect of social media?

Except - it’s not really free. It takes time to do social media marketing, and time is money in business.

We show you how to shave off hours of time, save money and become a social media superstar.

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Cover Story

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here’s no doubt about it. Social media has transformed the way small businesses market to their target audiences and interact with customers.

2. Limit to two or three platforms

Target and master a couple of platforms, rather than dabbling in many. Social media has become complex. Each social platform has more features and the learning curve is steeper.

But the elephant in the room has always been the amount of time you must invest to do social media right.

Focus on the platforms your customers spend the most time on or that fit your industry. The 80/20 rule applies here. By focusing on just two or three, you use your time efficiently and you’ll have a bigger impact on the platforms because you can learn more about how to use them.

Fortunately, you can save time on social media, provided you plan well and work smart. Here are 26 techniques for saving time on social media::

FOCUS

3. Measure — but only what counts

The biggest waste of time in social media happens when you operate without any real plan or focus.

Social sites like Facebook and Twitter keep adding increasing amounts of social analytics.

But you can waste hours obsessing over pretty graphs showing your follower growth.

Will that metric really matter to your business? Not necessarily. You can have 100,000 followers, but if none buy, it may not matter.

Instead, pick a few metrics that directly impact your business. For example, track which types of posts get the most clickthroughs to your product pages or lead capture form. When deciding which metrics to track, ask yourself: how does this benefit my business?

1. Tie closely to your strategy There are dozens, if not hundreds, of ways to use social media for business. Not every strategy will fit your business goals. Step back, look at your marketing plan, and pick two or three ways that social media can fit into that plan.

4. Experiment and revise, ruthlessly

Sometimes we continue with activities that don’t work out of habit or because we heard that a technique worked for someone else.

Here’s the thing -- every business is different.

And social media is continually evolving. So it pays to experiment and try new approaches.

For example, try out several styles of posts.

Create some with videos, some with pictures, some with just links in them. Or you could test the use of hashtags in tweets or which types of images work best in Facebook ads.

For example, let’s say one of your marketing goals this year is to grow your email list. If so, then you might want to implement Twitter lead-generation cards to capture email subscriptions. Or use the Facebook “call to action” button of your Facebook page’s cover image to get people over to your email signup page.

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Cover Story Change one thing at a time so you have a controlled test and can tell what works.

Give each change enough time to measure the effect. Double down on what works.

Ruthlessly drop anything that doesn’t.

Eliminating low-value work will help you by saving time on social media in the future.

see what your followers are posting and respond to any comments and messages.

The elephant in the room has always been the amount of time you must invest to do social media right. Fortunately, you can save time, provided you plan well and work smart.

SCHEDULE You can save considerable time just by making sure you are doing the right things at the right times.

7. Schedule updates in advance

One of the beauties of automation is that you can schedule updates days or weeks in advance. This helps you preserve your attention span and get into an efficient rhythm. You can bang out several days’ worth of tweets and updates at a single sitting. Then just plug them into a scheduling app. Hootsuite and SocialOomph.com are two popular applications that make it easy to schedule tweets, Facebook updates and other updates in advance.

5. Put it on a calendar

Make time for social media and organize activities into a social media calendar. Once you put your plan on paper (or in a digital document) you will be able to more quickly execute because it’s all laid out. You don’t have to stop to think about it or clutter up your mind by trying to remember what needs to be done when. Download our social media calendar template for your own customizable version.

8. Be consistent and persistent

As a general rule, it’s better to post more to social media than less. That’s because the more times people hear from you, the more you stay top of mind. So stick with it. And do it regularly, without long silences in between updates.

But strike a balance. Your efforts will backfire if you overdo it. Remember, the more you post, the less engagement you may get on each update. Also, you want to avoid being branded a spammer by followers tired of getting self-promoting posts from you every 20 minutes.

6. Batch it!

Jumping in and out of social media sites all day eats up more time than you realize.

Science tells us it can take up to 30 minutes to return your attention to whatever you were doing before an interruption.

Organize your work in batches to minimize interruptions. For example, schedule tweets and LinkedIn updates at the beginning of the day. Then later in the day check all your social channels in one 15-minute block of time, to 8

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9. Post at the right time

Post when the maximum numbers of your followers are looking at social media. For many businesses that will likely be mornings, |

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Delegating incorrectly, however, can actually waste time, not save it.

Monday through Friday. (Your mileage may vary, depending on your industry and audience.) Social analytics and Google Analytics can help you narrow down when your business gets the most engagement and traffic from social media.

Automation also is a huge time saver, but has gotten a bit of a black eye from people abusing it. The trick is to use automation to be more efficient, not to turn it into a spam bot.

10. Perform regular maintenance

Don’t forget to schedule maintenance time.

Social media sites change their buttons, features and APIs. Add a quarterly calendar reminder to test all buttons, plugins and other social features on your site. Also, check the official blog or developer center for your social platforms of choice to stay up to date on new features and changes.

11. Delegate with clear boundaries

There’s a difference between delegating and abdicating. Before you delegate, make sure you’ve assured yourself the person is up to the task and has the right training.

Establish clear objectives. Communicate guidelines for what’s acceptable and what’s not when representing the business on social media.

Here at Small Business Trends, we learned just recently that our Twitter shares showed a small image instead of the more-enticing large Social media activities demand a images, because a setting consistent level of attention. To work had changed. All we needed to do was use the Twitter smart, business managers should card validator and adjust the delegate and automate. setting once in our code. The large size image began being Also, make sure your help knows there are automatically posted when hitting the tweet scenarios where you need to be brought button on the page. It saved us the extra personally into the mix right away. Let’s say step of manually uploading a large image you have an exceedingly angry customer to Twitter. venting on your social channels. Being informed early will help you with saving time DELEGATE AND AUTOMATE on social media. Taking steps to avoid a public relations crisis is less time consuming than having to clean up a mess later.

12. Pick a social media enthusiast

Try to delegate to a staffer who just loves social media (other qualifications being equal). Does he or she have an active Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account? Do you sense excitement?

Someone enthusiastic about social media won’t need a long learning curve.

Most social media activities can be delegated by the business owner or manager.

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Share a promotional item, special offer, freebie.

Retweet community content

Share community content

Share community content

Post link to content from your blog with short update

Remind people to join your mailing list and the benefits they get if they do.

Compose tweet linking to content from your blog

Write a 300-word original piece about a recent development in your industry.

Share a promotional item, special offer, freebie.

TUESDAY

MONDAY

Compose tweet linking to content from your blog using an image, or link to community content

Share a promotional item, special offer, freebie.

Share community content

Post an interesting question to the community

WEDNESDAY

#ThrowbackThursday Participate by sharing old personal photos, old fashion trends, old technology, etc. from years gone by for engagement.*

Compose tweet linking to content from your blog or the community

Post link to content from your blog with short update.

#TBT Throwback Thursday - Participate by sharing personal photos from years gone by for engagement purposes.*

Create an original image-based post

THURSDAY

#FF Follow Friday Participate by thanking new followers in a tweet they're tagged in.*

Retweet community content

Post humorous fun content (cartoon, meme, video, etc.)

Remind people to join your mailing list and the benefits they get if they do.

Share humorous fun content (cartoon, meme, video, etc.)

FRIDAY

SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR

Once per week check new followers on each platform.

Choose and add those you want to follow

Check for and respond to @Mentions, replies, comments and messages

Pin your own blog or ecommerce content on your company boards

Post link to content from your blog on your LinkedIn company page

WEDNESDAY

Check for and respond to @Mentions, replies, comments and messages

Pin community content on your company boards

Write a long form post on LinkedIn adapting content from your blog and linking back to your blog for more.

THURSDAY

For tips and advice, or for other formats for this calendar, please visit our Social Media Calendar for Small Business page.

http://smallbiztrends.com

If you share or use this calendar outside of your company, please give credit to Small Business Trends

This calendar was created by Small Business Trends LLC. It is protected by a Creative Commons license, Attribution, Noncommercial, ShareAlike.

FRIDAY

Check for and respond to @Mentions, replies, comments and messages

Pin your own blog or ecommerce content on your company boards

Participate in Linked Groups, posting comments and/or community links

Change the activities to fit your business. The suggested activities are merely idea starters. Do not feel pressured to do every activity.

INSTRUCTIONS:

All platforms

Check for and respond to @Mentions, replies, comments and messages

Check for and respond to @Mentions, replies, comments and messages

Set up a new themed board under your company Pinterest account

Post link to content from your blog as a short update on your personal LinkedIn profile

Participate in Linked Groups, posting comments and/or community links

Pin community content on your company boards

TUESDAY

MONDAY

SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR

Cover Story

13. Outsource — but don’t forget even that takes time

15. Follow hashtags

For those who use social media to keep tabs on developments in Outsourcing to an outside your industry or field of interagency or contractor may Outsourcing can be est, set up a list of popular save you time. But as some hashtags to search on in business owners have a great strategy but your platforms of choice. discovered, it can be a costly still requires some Hashtags started on Twitter, boondoggle. Why? Business but other platforms now use time and attention owners sometimes underthem. Start typing a phrase estimate how much time to pull off. And in the search box, and many it takes to successfully deploy when it comes to platforms will also autosugan outsourced resource.

If you don’t put enough automation, don’t go gest related hashtags. At Google Plus, if you type a time into it to do it right, overboard.

Personal phrase such as “entrepreyou’ll waste money and get neur” into the search box engagement is poor results. (you don’t even have to use needed at Remember, you still must the # symbol there), you will interview outsourcing candisome level. get not only results for that dates, set up a contract, hashtag but will see a list of help the new resource learn related hashtags to follow. about your business, outline guidelines and 16. Set up brand alerts expectations, provide access to accounts, If you want to keep very close tabs on when, communicate on a regular basis, monitor where and how your brand is mentioned, set results, and pay invoices. Remember, too, up alerts so you’re notified via email. Many the more inexperienced the contractor is, people use the free Google Alerts service, the more hand-holding you will have to do. although it has a reputation of spotty service.

14. Auto-update all blog posts to Mention.com is a paid service that tracks social media social media and Web mentions. Hootsuite Ensure that all your blog content is shared and other tools also track some social by automatically posting a link to your mentions and will email you. latest blog post on your Twitter, LinkedIn or 17. Set up weekly reports from Google Facebook account.

Analytics

Start by grabbing the URL to your blog’s RSS feed. Then use a tool like TwitterFeed or IFTTT.com to set up the auto-sharing. If you have a WordPress blog you can even find a plugin.

Set up Google Analytics to send you and others on your team a report showing which social platforms are sending traffic to your website. Then you don’t have to remember to visit Google Analytics and manually run a report periodically.

This doesn’t mean you should completely automate everything. Someone in your business still needs to engage personally. But by automating the updating process, you’ll have more time for engagement.

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The first step is to set up social analytics.

Then set up the report you want to receive on a regular basis. Click the “Email” button at the top of the report page to set a weekly schedule for the report to arrive in your inbox. |

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Cover Story level on a few of the following techniques is advanced, and you may need help to implement some of them. But all will help you do more with social media, efficiently.

18. Halt minor email notifications

As valuable as email notifications can be, getting too many will bury you. For example, do you really need an email each time someone new is following you on Twitter? Social media platforms often default to sending notifications for every little thing because it is in their financial interests to get you to visit multiple times a day. Go into your settings on each social media platform.

Uncheck the boxes for most email notifications. You can better monitor most activity through periodic reports instead.

20. Consolidate under one dashboard

Use a tool that consolidates as much of your social media activity and monitoring as possible under a single dashboard. You save time by not needing to visit each social platform individually. A tool like Hootsuite can help you efficiently manage activities on over 30 social media platforms from a single login location.

19. Use lists and don’t try to consume everything

21. Share third-party content using a curation service

Also check all comments, mentions and other direct interactions from followers.

As for everything else, just scan your stream periodically for interesting items.

Social media is time consuming enough, without having to create all the content you share from scratch. Instead, “curate” and share relevant news and tips of other parties.

You give the third party credit, of course, but you are adding value because you are the one who shared it. To double your timesavings, use a service like $99 Social to curate content on your behalf, so you don’t have to scour the Internet.

Social media has become a fire hose of information. Pick a few followers whose updates you ALWAYS want to see (such as friends, family or important clients). Make use of lists such as Twitter lists, or lists in monitoring tools such as Hootsuite to track these must-reads.

22. Use Knowem to reserve social profiles and handles

USE FORCE MULTIPLIERS Advanced tools and techniques can extend your reach while saving time on social media.

Call them “force multipliers.” The technical 14

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Protect your company from brandjacking, by reserving your brand name on popular social sites. With Knowem.com you can |

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social media shares. Sharre is a JavaScript program that will automatically gather the total number of shares that a page or post has. You can see this information privately and use it to develop content strategy that delivers the best results, saving time on social media. Or use it to display share counts for visitors so they can discover your most socially popular content.

easily search for and reserve your name as a vanity URL on social media platforms.

Knowem saves times by doing the search in one place, and completing your initial registration for you, on up to 300 social sites.

23. Create a Tweet Bank

A Tweet Bank is simply a collection of standard tweet verbiage that you can pull out and adapt when you are composing tweets or other social media posts. Despite the name, it may contain more than sample tweets -- it may contain sample Facebook updates, Google+ updates and more.

26. Optimize your site for social media with a plugin

Use the Yoast SEO plugin if your blog or website is built on WordPress.org software, to optimize your site for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest. By filling in your social profiles all in one convenient place, the plugin will integrate with each social site. That way, if someone shares content from your blog with Facebook, for instance, the plugin tells Facebook the correct picture and other information to pull from your page.

You don’t have to add code from each social site separately to your website, or struggle to keep up with changes.

Compile standard language for various situations, such as a sample Facebook post about your latest special offer, or a tweet announcing you will be holding a webinar, and so on. Keep these templates in a Word document, an Evernote or One Note app, or other digital file. You will save time on social media by not having to reinvent the wheel when composing future updates.

24. Get your own URL Shortener

Large companies create their own vanity shortened URLs. Think “pep.si” for Pepsi or “movi.es” for Netflix. You too can have your own branded URL shortener. Start by registering a shortened domain name at a domain registrar. Then install the free Yourls. org software on your server. This way you never have to worry about a shortened URL service that goes kaput - because you will be hosting your own.

If you don’t use WordPress but instead use another website builder tool, check there for apps or plugins. For example, Wix offers a marketplace of social media apps to add social media features to Wix websites.

Remember, smart technology moves can help your business become a social media powerhouse, while saving time on social media.

Yourls has built-in analytics and an API that will allow you to create short links automatically. For instance, your site could be set up to autotweet each blog post using your own branded short URL.

Shawn Hessinger

Executive Editor @Shawn_Hessinger

25. Keep track of your most shared content for decision making

Do you know which of your blog articles or website pages have been shared most?

Use Sharre.com to get total counts of your 15

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MARKETING

7

Mobile Marketing Tips For Small Business

These days people are glued to their mobile devices. How can you justify NOT tapping into the full potential of mobile marketing?

D

services such as FourSquare, Google+, ShopKick or SpotIt to check-in to your location and offer a reward for them doing so, such as incentives, special discounts, prizes or recognition for a certain number of visits.

id you know that over half of adults in the United States now utilize a smart phone to surf the Web? This information makes it even more urgent that you bring your business onto the mobile scene if you have not already.

2. Social Media Marketing

Use your mobile phone to keep your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Instagram profiles up-to-date and engaged.

3. Text Marketing

Create opt-in campaigns allowing your customers to sign up to receive special messages, alerts and rewards for joining your text campaign. Use this platform to allow customers to take a specific action (such as participating in a survey or visiting your website) in exchange for a reward (a free item or 10 percent discount). Redbox does this very well, regularly offering text campaign customers exclusive deals and free movie rentals.

Even if you are a brick and mortar store, it is imperative that you, at the minimum, make your website mobile friendly. Regardless of whether you sell t-shirts, computers or wedding planning services, if your potential customers cannot find you in a quick, mobile search, you will be easily passed over.

4. QR Codes

Using QR codes (Quick Response codes) allows users to access specific content in order to obtain a special reward or to take advantage of a specific promotion. QR scanners can easily be downloaded for free onto any smartphone. ou can create your own QR codes easily using websites like qrstuff.com and add flyers, ads, business cards, etc.

Use these mobile marketing tips for small business to market your business in a mobile world.

1. Ask Customers to Check-In and Reward Them

Encourage customers who use mobile

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5. Mobile Customer Service

Track orders, payments, shipping details and respond to questions quickly on the go using your smartphone. This is easy and convenient for you and your customers enjoy the faster responses from it.

Regardless of whether you sell T-shirts, computers or wedding planning services, if the public cannot easily find you in a mobile search, you might as well be invisible.

6. Mobile Directories

Mobile directories have replaced the phone book yellow pages for the majority of people.

If you want to ensure your business is found, register with several mobile directories such as Yelp, Google+ Local, and YP (Yellow Pages). Include the name of your business, the product/service you provide, business hours, phone number, physical address and link to your website.

with and convert your users quickly and more efficiently.

Here is a little fact for you: 75 percent of smartphone users in the U.S. confess to taking their mobile phones with them to the bathroom. Gross, sure, but think about it.

This is just another example of the prevalence of the mobile device. Smartphones are now how the majority of people pass time, locate information, find the time for the next movie, search for deals or find a plumber to fix their toilet. Our mobile devices have become an extension of us.

7. Create a Mobile App

Want to make your business even more easily accessible? If so, create an app.

You can easily create an app with websites like appypie.com or appmakr.com. Your app should provide unique content apart from your other digital presences, but still sell products, allow you to communicate with your customers, or whatever else you desire.

Eighty-five percent of smartphone users surveyed feel more at ease navigating an app than a mobile version of your website.

So if you have not dipped your finger into mobile marketing, use these mobile marketing tips for small business to get on the boat.

If you’re already into mobile marketing, keep doing your research in order to keep your business on top of the newest trends.

In general, iOS apps generate nearly four times the revenue as opposed to Android apps, but it can be more difficult navigating the Apple app developing world.

Social networking and mobile marketing are constantly moving forward and evolving. If you do not stay on top of the times and stay tuned into what mobile marketing means, it’s too easy to get left behind.

The good news for your business is mobile marketing is not going away. In fact, it’s the future. What will evolve is how we use mobile marketing in the future to find information.

Google has predicted this will be the year that more people will search for information using their mobile device than using a desktop computer.

Ronald Dod

CEO and Founder, Grey Umbrella Marketing @Visiture_Search

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curation

45+

Tools for Content Curation and Marketing

Harness the huge amount of information available today by curating third party content and sharing it. These tools make quick work of it.

C

ontent curation and content marketing are hot terms today. Curation involves weeding through the vastness of the Web to find the information your audience will find useful and meaningful. Curation is one way to do content marketing.

This list of 45+ tools is meant to help you find, sift, organize and then share what’s relevant to your readers and audience.

• RebelMouse.com is a program that allows you to organize your social creation and curation of content, including social amplification, advertising, and digital publishing in one platform.

• Prepare.io is a new player aimed at helping you prepare and manage your content – think of it as the intelligent editorial calendar.

Get to know the new Office.

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• Delicious.com is certainly one of the most well-known Web services from the dotcom days. This cloud-based bookmarking tool allows you to keep track of links and sites, via your computer or, of course, via your mobile device.

• If you want to keep your content fresh, try Content Scheduler. It’s a WordPress plugin that automatically removes old content from your website or reminds you when your content is old.

• Create a daily or weekly online newspaper with content relevant to your audience using Paper.li.

• If you are looking for a unique way to share your content, you can use LiveBinders. com to create digital binders collaboratively or to share.

• Or, take the next step with Scoop.it, which allows you to add your own content to content you are sharing.

• Read “Epic Content Marketing: How

to Tell a Different Story, Break Through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less.” This

• If you want to have a search engine work full time so you don’t have to, try ContentGems.com. You type in search topics and receive a daily email digest or view items on the website.

book teaches you how to trim down and focus your content while generating more interest in your niche.

• GetPocket.com takes your bookmarks and displays them in a Pinterest or Tumblr type format. You can tag items to create a portfolio, of sorts. It works offline, too.

• Since it is difficult to view scheduled articles with WordPress, the Editorial Calendar plugin allows you to see when your articles are scheduled, drop and drag posts, and manage your site easier.

• Let your users get in touch with you and tell you what they want with Contact Form 7, a plugin for your WordPress website.

• If you are handling content on a large scale, Curata.com is the industrial-strength content creation software for you. It doesn’t have transparent pricing, as I often require of any company I mention, but it does come recommended by some executives I know. Complete with a self-learning engine, it allows you to organize and publish your content whenever and wherever you need it.

• Consider using List.ly to create embedded, interactive lists on your blog for crowdsourcing content and reader engagement, too.

• If you have specific RSS feeds you would like to follow, but don’t have the code, Ukora News Search (at RSSsearchHub. com) can help you find it. Loads of people love to use RSS to keep up with and curate the news and important topics.

• Kuratur.com is similar to Paper.li in that it allows you to create your own blog newspaper with targeted content. It offers a little more customization, though.

• Woisio.com allows you to scan live broadcasts, audio, video, and blogs for active content.

• You can manage content newsletters at Mailchimp.com. Some businesses share their content through just email and then make the email archive available to subscribers or the Web at large.

• The WordPress plugin, MyCurator, actively finds content and can be trained for accuracy. You can also capture Web content as you browse.

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CURATION • Headslinger.com is a news feed that allows you to select headline sources and share favorites to collaborate.

• If you are looking for desktop-based curation software, CurationSoft.com helps you find, evaluate, and curate content to drag and drop into an HTML editor.

• Zemanta.com offers many tools including plugins that either recommend content directly on your site or offer link suggestions while you are typing in a search box.

• Use IFTTT.com to easily set up time-saving, automated tasks between 35 supported platforms. For example, you could have it monitor your favorite WordPress blog and automatically bookmark new posts in Delicious. This service can be a bit intimidating, but I have found it worth the learning curve.

•

The Addict-o-matic (Addictomatic.

com) is really a curation search engine.

You put in a term and it displays results from Bing, Twitter and many other sites.

You then have this custom search from a healthy diversity of sites.

• If you are looking for an “uncluttered” RSS reader for your content filtering, take a look at Rivered.io.

• If your business is ready to take content monitoring to the next level, try Postano. com. This service helps you not only monitor and curate content, but also to monitor the content of your competitors.

Think of it as Google Alerts on steroids.

• Although not exactly a content marketing tool, FlashIssue.com is an interesting service that lets you create and manage email marketing templates and campaigns from Gmail directly.

FlashIssue helps you pull content into your newsletters. Given a keyword it will go find fresh content you can drag and drop into your email message.

• Create your own content magazine for your mobile device with Flipboard.com to stay on top of your favorite topics while on the go. Flipboard acquired Zite.com, which is a mobile app that learns what you like as you use it.

• Juxapost.com is a social, content-pinning library that allows you to build content to share or keep private. When you see something you like, you can search for “more like this.”

• Aggregage.com turns content into its own social media. It starts with topics and then identifies high-quality blogs that would fit it. Visit the topic and you see all the blogs listed in one place.

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• You can collect, share, organize, and access your favorite pictures on Kweeper.com. |

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collaborate and create content, plan a sharing strategy and share content on social media all in one stop.

• Storify.com is a social media collection forum. You can search the top posts that are relevant to your keywords and curate your own content to embed on your website.

• PearlTrees.com is a social, digital library for depositing and organizing your content.

• Do you have difficulty summarizing the content you find? SoCXO.com helps you find new, relevant content and then will write a summary and a “custom blurb” of it for you. This is a fee-based service, but nifty if you’re pressed for time.

• Another option for content filtering and collaborative curation is Spundge.com.

It lets you create public notebooks -- not unlike tools like Evernote.

• The Gimme Bar+ (at Gimmebar.com) stores your favorites -- not just bookmarks -- in a cloud-based personal library that you can download to Dropbox or share with others.

• Trap!t (at Trap.it) is another smart content manager that allows you to view searches in boxes filtered by keywords.

The more you use it, the more it learns the type of content you want.

• Storyful.com offers breaking news videos and content tailored to your needs.

You can even obtain licensing rights to the articles here.

Curation involves weeding through the vastness of the Web to find the information your audience will find useful and meaningful.

• You can build your website right on Flocker.com or integrate the service with your existing website. This tool lets you choose how frequently to update website content from real-time to monthly editions.

• Feedly.com is a mobile friendly reader that allows you to monitor your favorite websites or topics.

• Bag the Web (at BagtheWeb.com) takes digital libraries a step further and allows you to embed content in your bags, divide bags, summarize content,

• You can keep all your curation under one roof with Shareist.com. It allows you to research and capture digital information, 21

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CURATION

share your bags, and re-bag content others have bagged.

organize, and share content or have the week’s top stories emailed to you in digest form.

• If you want to keep an eye on content on Facebook and Twitter, News.Me sends you an email with the top five stories shared each day.

• You can filter, collaborate with others, and share content using iFlow.com.

• KBucket.com is a user-generated bookmark site. So, someone starts doing some research and makes a publicly available bookmark list. It gives you a list of links for each topic. It is a work in progress so it can be hit or miss, by topic.

Keeping up with the flood of content created on the Web is no easy task. These tools for content curation and marketing should help.

• Looking for a tool to help you collect content while surfing the Web? Bundlr. com creates a browser button to click content into bundles, which you can embed on your website.

TJ McCue

Product Editor @TJMcCue

• YourVersion.com is a real-time content filter that allows you to bookmark,

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Drop the lengthy email threads, out-of-date spreadsheets, no-longer-so-sticky notes, and clunky software for managing your projects. Trello lets you see everything about your project in a single glance.

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See everything Trello Can Do

FB MISTAKES

Stop Doing These 15 Things on Facebook Facebook has the highest number of users compared to any other social media platform. Millions of small businesses use it to tap into their target markets. Keep these 15 factors in mind for a successful Facebook strategy.

Many small business owners have a love/ hate relationship with Facebook. While the potential to reach and engage your prospects, leads and customers is huge, there are so many little things that can keep you from realizing that promise.

image and avatar photo (where your logo should shine). If these two elements, in combination, don’t tell visitors what your business is all about, they’re not doing their job.

• Tone of voice and personality: Depending on your business, your tone of voice and personality can be serious, light-hearted or anywhere in between. Make sure you use the proper tone of voice and let your business’s personality shine forth in every text update, image and video you post on Facebook.

To help your business succeed on this challenging social media platform, here’s a list of things to stop doing on Facebook right now. In other words, if you want to market your business successfully there – cease making these Facebook mistakes

2. Forgetting to Complete Your Page Info Profile

Things to Stop Doing on Facebook – Now

Your business’s page on Facebook gives you a place on the Web to advertise your brand and help your customers learn more about you.

1. Failing to Brand Your Business Page

You’ve developed your brand for a reason.

From colors to typography, logo, tone of voice and even personality, your brand is what differentiates your business from its countless competitors.

That’s where your page info profile comes into play. Filled with relevant information about your business, it should be the one stop source for everything your prospects, leads and customers need to know about what you do and how they can contact you to get it done.

Unfortunately, so many businesses seem to forget that when they create their Facebook page. Here are a couple key branding must-haves: • Header and avatar images: The first thing people see when they come to your Facebook business page is your header

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When completing your profile, make sure to include all the information your visitors need

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FB MISTAKES such as your hours, phone number, site URL, and all other relevant company information.

and posting videos on, Facebook keep you from reaping higher shares. It’s easy to post videos to your business’ Facebook page and there are many online tools available you can use to quickly create professional videos.

Don’t make your visitors hunt for this information. Because they won’t.

3. Publishing Long, Boring Updates

5. Forgetting to Include Calls to Action

When posting updates to your business page’s timeline, they need to be attention grabbing, short and engaging. Your timeline is not the spot for your press releases or blog posts.

Your Facebook page can help you capture lots of leads. However, if you don’t include a call to action in every post, you’ll miss out on this opportunity.

One example of a call to action is a link to a form where you can capture information, the most important being a visitor’s email address.

One key to grabbing attention is a strong headline. As people scroll through their Facebook timelines, your updates’ headlines need to grab their attention or they’ll just pass right by.

Once you’ve added a prospect to your email-marketing list, you’re ready to begin nurturing that lead into a sale.

Short of course is a relative measure however, what you need to know is that shorter posts are more likely to be read. When your visitors and fans see a longer post, they’re more likely to tuck it away for later (i.e. never) or skip it altogether.

6. Posting too Often

Think about the most annoying friend you have on Facebook. They post everything about anything and it’s not long before you groan when you see them pop-up in your Facebook timeline.

Once you have their attention, your updates need to engage your fans and visitors. The key to this is knowing your target customer as well as you can so the topics of your updates are relevant, useful and in some cases entertaining.

Don’t let your business be like that friend.

Post regularly, but not so often that your page’s fans get tired of seeing your posts in their timelines.

7. Failing to Post Often Enough

By the way, you can blog on Facebook thanks to their “Notes” app. Similar to the long-form posts on LinkedIn, these posts appear on a different page tab than your timeline and thus the usual rules above don’t apply.

The flip side of the above, of course, is not posting often enough. You want to stay on your fans’ radar, so you need to be active regularly.

Just how many posts in one timeperiod are enough or not enough can vary from business to business. This is where your page’s Insights come in handy.

4. Ignoring Video

Pictures used to be the highest-shared type of content on Facebook. Recently however, the top contender has been video while images have dropped to the bottom of the pile behind even text and link posts.

Don’t let the hurdle of creating video for, 24

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too low, try increasing your post frequency to see if you get more engagement. If the numbers drop, decrease your post frequency again.

Be careful of using too many hashtags however. It’s been shown that using more than two per post can significantly lower engagement.

8. Posting at the Wrong Time

10. Liking Your Own Updates

Here again, your page’s Insights come in handy. In addition to showing you how many people engage with your posts by clicking or commenting, they also show you when people do so.

Posting when you get the most engagement will help keep engagement high. Test different times as well — doing so may help you discover additional time periods when engagement is high.

9. Forgetting to Use Hashtags

Hashtags used to be a Twitter-only device but, in 2014, Facebook introduced them to its own platform.

Using hashtags is a handy way to get discovered as people can search Facebook using them. If they use a hashtag you included in a post, your post will appear in their search results.

We know you like your update. You posted it. You don’t have to hit the like button. It makes your customers wonder if you have any friends.

11. Preventing Your Fans from Posting on Your Page

One of the fun things about your business’ Facebook page is the fact that your fans can post to your timeline as well. Allowing them to do so can really kick engagement up a notch (e.g. a “post a photo of you using our product” contest) so you should be sure to give it a try.

You can allow your fans to post to your page’s timeline by changing the settings:

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FB MISTAKES

12. Ignoring Your Fans

15. Failing to Use Facebook Apps

When your fans do post to your timeline, don’t ignore them.

Adding apps to your Facebook page can enhance its usefulness greatly. Each app appears under a separate tab and there are many types to choose from including: • Email list sign-up forms • eCommerce storefronts • Quizzes, polls and surveys • Contests and raffles • Reviews and coupons • Appointment scheduling • Customer service • Other social media sites such as Pinterest and YouTube • Job postings

Facebook is all about engagement, so it’s a bad idea to ignore fan comments on your timelines or messages they may choose to send you privately.

Nothing kills goodwill more than being ignored. You need to foster your relationships ith fans and responding to them is an important key to doing so.

13. Failing to Maintain an Appropriate Demeanor

When you do interact with your fans, make sure you act appropriately. Don’t snap at them if they complain. Don’t make snarky comments about your competitors. Be careful in your use of profanity.

Conclusion Facebook can be a small business owner’s best friend but only if you can avoid the pitfalls along the way.

That’s not to say your business can’t snap, snark or swear up a storm on Facebook. If that fits your brand image, then by all means do so because you’ll attract your targeted customers that way.

If you stop doing these 15 things on Facebook, then you’re well on your way to realizing the full potential of the platform for engaging and converting your targeted customers.

Be careful of the implications, however. For example, if you post something snarky about a competitor, you may well find yourself on the receiving end of a defamation suit.

Matt Mansfield

Columnist and Tech Editor @MattSMansfield

14. Ignoring Spam

Of course, not all fan posts and comments are created equal. Don’t create your presence and then walk away. Monitor it!

If you see Facebook users promoting their own products and services on your page, that’s ppam. Delete them! Don’t allow people to harass one another. Make sure everyone is playing by the rules.

This page is associated with your brand. You have a responsibility to take care of it.

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MEDIA

29

Proven Ways to Get Media Attention

It’s not always easy to get media attention for your business. But our insider secrets written by a seasoned journalist will help with practical pointers.

An important part of marketing a small business should be gaining press coverage.

But attracting media attention can be an art in itself.

Journalists like me get pitched every day, often multiple times a day. With so much coming at us, we journalists have to make quick decisions upon seeing an email or press release.

Fortunately, there are some battle tested ways to get your brand in front of the media.

Here are 28 ways to get media coverage for your business.

Every media outlet has a style all its own based on its audience. Even if they cover the same news, different media outlets will cover it from different angles. Journalists may have specific “beats.” So not only does your news have to match, but your angle has to match, too. You can only learn these nuances by reading, watching or listening to the media outlet repeatedly.

2. Choose Email Over Phone

Today, media pitches should go through

How to Get Your Business in the Media 1. Know What The Media Outlet Covers

The biggest problem with most media pitches is that they are mismatched with what the publication, show or individual journalist covers.

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email. Avoid the temptation to call, unless you have a very specific question. Voicemails take more time to listen to, and can be hard to forward to the right person. Busy editors will simply hit the delete key on their phone if faced with a long voicemail with garbled words.

3. Reach the Right Person

Part of a PR pro’s value is in finding the right person. Even here at Small Business Trends we have multiple editors and writers. An email to one won’t necessarily be seen by anyone else.

Or go through the main contact form. Media outlets may use help desk software that routes communications to the right place based on drop-down menus or certain words in the message.

ation. Instead, they send around general email pitches. In all likelihood their email is never seen by the editor responsible for that feature.

5. Let Them Know You’re an Expert Every three months send an email indicating you are an expert and available for media interviews. Being quoted gets you and your business recognized in your field. Editors sometimes save these emails if they should need a source. Also, create a page on your website that identifies you as an expert on certain topics, so editors can find you through Google.

6. Be Easy to Reach

Nothing is more frustrating than an expert source who is hard to reach for an interview.

Journalists work under tight deadlines. Be easy to reach by phone. Put a phone number on your website for media inquiries. Return calls immediately. Oh, and if you’re working 4. Target Regular Features with a PR pro, you need to respond to your PR Does the media outlet have a regular fearep who is trying to set up the interview for ture? You can practically schedule your stoyou. I’ve lost track of how many times PR reps ry to run in a say two days print or online later they still Attracting media attention can be publication if can’t reach their you spend a an art in itself. One way to increase client! If you’re little time to not easy to your chances of getting publicity is to discover regreach, you won’t develop and maintain your own roster of ular features be contacted a where your journalists and media outlets. Approach second time by c o m p a n y ’s that journalist or them individually with your news. story would media outlet. be a perfect fit. Media outlets are always looking for subjects for these 7. Create a Resource Center for Media regular features. Search for editorial calenMake it easy on media to cover your busidars, or follow their Twitter feed to spot recurness. Create a media page where the press ring features. can easily grab your logo in color and blackand-white, screenshots, images of your top And be sure to follow any instructions for that products, and headshots of key executives. feature. For instance, here at Small Business Include high resolution versions. Also, include Trends we do a weekly small business spotbasic facts and figures about your business. light. But you’d be surprised how many peoRemember, if your business is not a main part ple don’t bother to look at the Contact page of the story, the editor may decide to cut out for how to submit a business for consider29

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MEDIA

11. Invite the Special Events

your business completely rather than hold up the entire story for one missing piece of information.

Media

to

Your

Never forget to invite the media to any special event you’re hosting. Customer appreciation day, company anniversary — whatever.

Give them easy access andalways remind the press that you’re available to speak to them on any press release you issue. At an event, hold special times where you can address the press or they can ask you questions and get information.

8. Tweet @ Them

Twitter is great for making connections with journalists. Follow journalists on Twitter. And tweet at them if you have something relevant to say, by including their @handle in your tightly crafted pitch tweet. If they’re mobile-savvy reporters, they’ll likely get a notification on their phones. Knowing that, you definitely don’t want to overdo this.

12. Engage on Facebook

Find media with active Facebook Pages.

Share their stories. Comment on their Facebook posts. At the very least, you’ll get some attention from their audience. It’s also a good way to get the outlet’s attention. Remember, a lot of reporters have their own Pages, too. Be sure to Like and engage there, too. It’s a great way to get attention.

9. Newsjack

Inserting your business into a breaking news situation — albeit indirectly — can have great (or disastrous) effects. There are low-key ways of newsjacking, though. Think, if there’s an unbreakable heat wave and you run an HVAC business, it’d be a perfect time to lend an expert voice to any news story.

13. Start With Blogs of Media Outlets

10. Take Advantage of Freebies

Some outlets have outlets of their own. For example, TV stations and newspapers often have blogs on their websites. While it may be difficult to get your business in the New York Times right out of the gate, perhaps you can get covered in one of its blogs by connecting with the bloggers. And you can still technically say you were covered on the New York Times website.

A lot of news and trade news websites offer free events calendars or free listings of resources. Get any special events or information on these listings.

News outlets hosting these listings are usually following them in case they need to fill news and feature holes in their coverage.

A well-written and comprehensive listing of yours may grab their attention and lead to

14. Create Your Media Short List

a story.

Maintain your own updated roster of media outlets, reporters, and other contacts in the media industry. Break the lists down to include lists of local and regional sources and another that is industry specific. And write notes so you remember details about how to reach certain people or stories they tend to cover.

15. Offer Exclusives (Sometimes)

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the journalists who do product reviews. Contact them and offer a demo, trial or temporary review copy of your products. Do not offer free products or send gifts to journalists, however, as that could violate ethics rules of their employers.

19. Create a “Complete” Press Release A press release today should include everything a reporter would need to write or produce a story about your business. This includes your logo, product images, screenshots, executive headshots, videos, links to online demos or free trials, and social media profile links.

Also, provide facts and figures about your company including how many customers you serve, your markets, and where you have offices. The more complete your package, the more likely you are to get coverage.

let may be a benefit. Press outlets in competition with each other are always looking for ways to get a leg up.

Be careful, though. This plan could backfire and those you didn’t offer the exclusive to may feel jilted.

16. Don’t Brag About Other News Outlets Covering Your News

20. Send Bulky Mail

Sometimes snail mailing a package with an Would you invite people to a dinner party and inexpensive swag item and a personal note tell them you’re serving leftovers from the helps build dinner party the relationnight before? ships with There are multiple ways to attract media Don’t send a journalists. pitch email that attention to your business. Maintaining Do not send brags about your own roster of media outlets is one anything all the importexpensive. ant news outthe basics Many melets that have dia outalready covered lets have ethics rules prohibiting journalists your news. It’s like telling the recipient he or from accepting items of value. But a branded she is second string. thumb drive that costs $2 or a small branded notepad, along with a personal note, could be 17. Attend Community Events Where memorable without crossing the line.

the Press May Be Present

Local small businesses do wonders for themselves simply by not being a stranger. Attend local community events. Set up a booth. The press is usually at these events and being there is a good chance to acquaint yourselves with them and vice versa.

21. Be Philanthropic

Be a benefit to your community, especially in times of need. Help organize or contribute to charitable drives. Get your name and your business’s name out in the community attached to something other than your business. When the press covers these charities, they’ll often mention who’s involved in helping.

18. Offer Review Products But Not Gifts For companies with products: get to know 31

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MEDIA Getting your name on that list gets the media’s attention — and the community’s too.

27. Do Something Unique

The media is always out looking for something unique. Make a statement via your brand.

It could be a one-of-a-kind unique product you’ve created or have in stock, a vibrant new shade of paint on the outside of your store — anything that gets your business to stand out from the crowd. And here’s the important part: be able to clearly articulate what is different. Don’t assume a journalist will “get it” if you don’t point it out and state it clearly.

22. Be a Resource Even After Your Story is Covered

If you’ve gotten coverage from a specific media outlet or reporter, stay connected with them. Reporters love knowing they can rely on someone as a source. Drop an occasional email with updates about your business and let them know you’re always available as a source of information.

28. Create Research

23. Avoid Buzzwords and Tech Jargon

The media is always looking for facts and statistics. If you collect any data in your business or have observations about facts and figures in your industry, compile it into a research report or index. Update it monthly or quarterly, and issue a press release around it. One of the ways that Barbara Corcoran, the multimillionaire investor on Shark Tank, got publicity for her business early on was through compiling statistics into the Corcoran Report about New York real estate.

Every business has words and terminology specific to them. But most times, no one else really understands these buzzwords or wants to hear them. It’s hard for journalists to write about your new tech product if they don’t even understand what it is or does. Use plain language that clearly explains it.

24. Use Bullet Points in Pitches

The media loves information that’s easy to digest. Pitch your story with some quick-hit data and facts that can be easily consumed by the audience. Use stats — but not too many — and quick tidbits in bullets to get your points across.

29. Give a Shout-Out

When a media outlet gives your business attention, acknowledge it on your site. Designate a press page to collect these references.

Share stories on social media too. While journalists don’t expect thanks from you, remember that the media outlet’s management may want to know that a story made an impact when they decide what to cover in the future.

25. Don’t Overhype

Creating a false sense of urgency won’t get you much attention. Like the boy who cried wolf, over-hyping a story could cost you credibility in the future.

Joshua Sophy

26. Never Harangue Reporters

Assistant Editor, Small Business Trends @joshuasophy

There’s a line between being a go-getter and an annoyance. It may be the wrong timing for your story or there may be some other reason for lack of response by the journalist. Don’t cost yourself an opportunity for coverage in the future by being pushy or obnoxious about your current pitch.

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INSTAGRAM MARKETING

25

Tips For Effective Instagram Marketing

Instagram has hundreds of millions of enthusiastic users. Find out how businesses are making a splash on this image-based social platform.

With Facebook declining in popularity among younger users, more and more businesses are turning to Instagram to reach younger demographics.

Share Drop-Dead Gorgeous Images

As a general rule, the pictures that perform best on Instagram are stunningly beautiful scenery shots. While not every photo you share will be this caliber, try to make it a priority to share gorgeous images once a week.

If you plan to adopt a similar strategy, you’ll want to take a look at the following Instagram marketing tips for getting the most out of your presence on the site.

Get to Know Instagram’s Filters

Instagram offers more than a dozen automatic image filters, but they’re not all created equal. Overall, my go-to favorites for general image editing include hefe, inkwell and rise.

Fill Out Your "Bio" Section

Before you pass “Go” and collect $200, be sure to fill out the “Bio” section of your Instagram profile. Doing so will ensure that people who want to connect with you elsewhere are able to make these connections.

Experiment with Other Image Editing Apps

If Instagram’s filters aren’t doing it for you, there are plenty of other image editing apps out there to give your pictures the love they need. In parvticular, check out Lumie, PicMonkey, Pixlr and Color Splash.

Learn How to Take Better Pictures on Your Phone

You don’t need a fancy DSLR camera to succeed on Instagram. Chances are the smartphone in your pocket has all the power you need. PopPhoto and CIO have great tips to offer on how to use your smartphone’s camera to the best of its abilities.

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Think about Story Arcs

The pictures you share on Instagram don't need to be one-off photos that aren't associated with each other. Think in terms of |

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INSTAGRAM MARKETING story arcs and share series of pictures that show actions being taken, items that are associated with one another or progressions through time.

Try a Collage of Pictures

smallbiztrends.com

Similarly, collages of pictures combined into a single image allow you to share more content with each upload. Use the image editing apps referenced above or one of a number of other programs designed to help you mash up pictures in this way.

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Add Text to Your Pictures

Memes tend to get a lot of traction on Instagram, so take advantage of this typeof viral-style image by creating your own graphic and text combinations. Use the Meme Generator website to research current meme trends, as well as make your own to share.

The 59

Give a “Behind the Scenes” Look

The Ellen Show is one of the most popular accounts on Instagram, but the images her team shares aren’t the kinds of polished production photos you’d expect. Instead, her candid “behind the scenes” shots help to personalize her brand and connect on a more personal basis with followers.

Showcase a Lifestyle

One way to tell your brand’s story without directly selling is to share lifestyle shots that reinforce your brand’s persona. Sharing surfing photos, for example, gives off a casual, laid back vibe, while sharing pictures of races creates a more motivated, driven identity.

Show New Uses for Your Products

If you want to be more direct when marketing on Instagram, use your uploads to show off innovative new ways to use your products. Followers

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Experiment With Video Clips

Instagram has introduced the ability to share video clips alongside the platform’s static photos.

To give it a try, use the movie camera icon within Instagram to record up to 15 seconds of footage and then apply a video-specific filter to improve its look.

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tend to be quite forgiving of brand marketing efforts when they receive something of value in exchange for their attention.

spend on account management, the more time you can invest into delivering great quality images.

Preview New Products

Give Ink361 a Try to Engage With Other Users

Similarly, one way to gain attention on this social platform is to preview new products on the site before they’re released to the general public or announced elsewhere.

Obviously, this strategy isn’t right for every brand, as those targeting older users could lose some media attention by announcing here. But if Instagram’s user base represents the right fit for your company, there’s almost no better way to make a splash.

Another great Instagram tool to check out is Ink361. Use the system to discover new followers, connect with other people and analyze the social impact your photo-sharing activities have had.

Check Out Iconosquare for Instagram Statistics

One last Instagram tool to add to your arsenal is Iconosquare. Once it’s set up, you’ll be able to view account stats on everything from the number of likes each of your photos has received to the growth of your follower base.

Introduce New Employees

Whenever you hire a new employee, take a photo of him or her and post it to Instagram. Doing so helps your followers to build personal relationships with your team, while also filling your feed with content that isn’t directly self-promotional.

Focus on Community – Not Influencers

Instagram tends to be a democratic space.

There aren’t many individual influencers who shape the community. So instead of trying to find and target these power users, focus your marketing efforts on reaching out to and connecting with members of your community.

Use Relevant Hashtags#

Hashtags are incredibly important on Instagram. Before releasing any image, search around for similar content to see which hashtags are likely to lead to the most awareness and engagement.

Share your Instagram Pics on Other Social Networks

Host an Instagram Contest

Instagram contests can be as involved or as hands-off as possible. No matter what prize you decide to offer or how you’ll track and judge entries, site users tend to get excited about these promotions (and the brands that run them).

Don’t limit your Instagram pictures to Instagram. Post your Instagram links to Facebook, Twitter and any other social media service your company uses in order to grow your user base and provide followers on other networks with valuable content.

Use Collecto to Manage Your Instagram Presence

Post at Peak Times

As you post on Instagram, pay attention to the times during the day when your images receive the most likes and comments. Use the trends you’ve identified to be sure you’re

Pro users of the popular Collecto service can use the program to enhance the site’s navigation capabilities, as well as manage photos in albums. The less time you

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INSTAGRAMMARKETING

posting at peak times when you’ll be most likely to reach members of your audience.

see you’ve taken the time to comment back.

Keep an Eye on Your “Feed Speed”

Clearly, there’s more to marketing on Instagram than these 25 tips alone. If you’ve got any additional Instagram marketing tips for business, share them below in the comments.

Don’t inundate your users with images.

See how frequently other brands in your industry are posting and mimic their feed speed, paying attention to the impact on your account’s metrics as you vary this rate.

Respond to All Comments you Receive

Sujan Patel

Recognize users that take the time to comment on your images by responding to their messages. Clicking on users’ names first will add them to your response, tagging them and making it more likely that they’ll

Co­founder of ContentMarketer.io @sujanpatel

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CARTOONISH

Viral Marketing? Try Some Chicken Soup for That!

V

iral marketing is apparently the holy grail of advertising now. Post a video of something funny, awkward or hopefully both, and hope that you’re the next big Internet sensation.

Mark Anderson

Cartoonist (www.andertoons.com) @andertoons

Still, you’d think people in advertising would be able to craft a term a little more friendly than “viral.” It sounds like something that’s going to keep you on the couch with some chicken soup for a good week.

And it’s that observation that led to this cartoon.

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five ways

5 WAYS TO SPREAD CONTENT, WHATEVER IT IS

Relying solely on organic traffic might not generate leads! Give your content a boost by using social media to spread the word.

S

How to Spread Content

o you wrote that great article, shot that video, and designed that “sure-to-be-viral” infographic. Congrats! Content such as articles, videos and infographics are a great way to attract your targeted online prospects, convert them into leads and ultimately nurture them into sales.

Post Strategic Social Media Updates Social media updates continue to lead the pack if you want to get your content in front of your targeted prospects. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn all provide one huge advantage — your targeted prospects are already visiting them so spreading your content there means they’ll find you.

But here’s the thing — creating unique online content only gets you half of the way to those sales. The rest of the work is all about getting noticed and the best way to do that is by finding the best places to spread content.

A word of warning though – don’t get caught up in the trap that “your business needs to be on each and every social media site.”

It makes sense right? You want to capture your targeted prospects’ attention, but if you publish or promote your content in spots where they don’t hang out, then you’re playing to an empty theater and all your hard work goes down the drain.

Updating a wide range of sites is a lot of work and you need to spend your time wisely. The solution? Use posts like this to find out which social media sites your targeted prospects use and then focus your efforts there.

Let’s take a look at different ways to spread content, whatever it is.

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Also, remember to promote your updates by using hashtags. Facebook, Twitter and |

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Google+ all enable you to use hashtags that are then used to include your updates in results when folks conduct a search on those sites.

a number of the public groups, private groups are another matter all together. Thanks to the hard work of the founder(s), private groups are usually kept spam-free and focused.

Participate in Social Groups and Communities

If you want to join a group, send a request to the group manager. Once you’re in, make sure to follow the rules and warnings or you’ll just get kicked back out.

Groups and communities are excellent spots to spread your content as they’re gathering spots for people with particular interests.

Interests that can be served by the products and services your company provides.

On Google+, groups are called communities and they can also be public or private. Unlike Facebook, many of the public communities are spam-free, though it remains to be seen how long that continues.

You can use groups and communities in two ways:

One of the amazing things about Google+ communities is their size. Some groups have thousands of members and posting there while following the rules is a sure way to spread your content. We’ve seen this work time and again and it’s a powerful method.

• Post an update similar to a regular social media update.

• Post the entire piece of content.

When posting content in a group or community, you need to avoid self-promotion. We know that seems counter-intuitive to what you want. However, if you’re useful and entertaining and provide calls to action that benefit members, you’ll get the results you want.

Publish Content On Other Websites

For many years, the Internet has been very website-centric. It makes sense. Websites are the primary building block of the World Wide Web and to this day, every YouTube, business needs to have one if it wants to appear legitimate.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn all provide one huge advantage - your targets are already using these platforms. So sharing your content there helps your target market find you.

Think about this — it takes more than a year of consistent content creation and promotion to drive traffic regularly to your website.

Why work that hard when other sites have already built a steady stream of traffic?

For example, if you sell surfboards and you join a surfer group, create an eBook that details the best surf spots in the world and then tell the members of the group that they can download it once they fill out this simple form. They get a useful guide and you get leads – everybody wins.

One example of this is LinkedIn. Since February 2014, the “social media for business” site has allowed its users to publish “long-form posts” (i.e. blog posts) to its Pulse section. If your business market is B2B, then this was the signal for you to jump into action.

On Facebook, you can search for both public and private groups. While spammers overrun 39

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However, your website may not be the best place to publish your content.

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five ways

Publishing posts on LinkedIn has many benefits, the top two of which are:

will receive your answer in their inbox (if they have notifications switched on).

When you publish a post to Pulse, LinkedIn notifies each of your followers that you’ve done so. This is powerful because the notification doesn’t come from you, but from LinkedIn. And, if someone’s opted in to get those notifications, you have a good chance of being noticed. Your followers consist of two groups: your connections and the folks who’ve read a previous post and hit the “Follow” button.

Use Email Newsletters Yes, email marketing is still alive and well.

One of the advantages that email has over every other way to spread content is the fact that the folks on your list opted-in – they stood up and said, “I want to get your content.”

That fact remains, spreading your content via email is a little different than the two ways to spread content we’ve discussed thus far. Your subscribers are already leads, now its time to nurture them into sales.

LinkedIn’s Pulse app is a great way to get your content noticed. Using a proprietary algorithm, LinkedIn features content from large publishers and an eclectic mix of smaller posters (that’s you!). If you get featured there, you’re views and followers can shoot up higher than you’d ever hoped.

The best strategy to use here is to target your content as tightly as you can. First, make sure your email system records the product, service or offer that drove them to sign up in the first place. Then, watch each member’s actions – which emails do they open and what links do they click on?

Quora is another great spot to publish your content. Seen by many as the successor to LinkedIn Answers, Quora is full of people looking for advice just like the advice you know how to give.

Armed with that information, you can send tightly targeted content to small pieces of your list. Since this information plays to their already expressed interests, the probability of a sale is that much greater.

Surprisingly, spammers have not overrun the site so the value is high. Best of all, even if you answer a question that’s years old, everyone who followed that question

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Create Feeds in Content Curation Sites

Conclusion

Another way to spread content is by taking part in a content curation site like scoop.it.

To spread content far and wide, you need to get off your site and focus your efforts in spots where your targeted prospects hang out online. The more likely they are to be there, the greater the chance they’ll see your content.

Scoop.it enables you to create your own news feed by drawing from multiple sources online. For example, if you sell surfboards, you can create a news feed that provides news on everything surfing – from equipment and locations to weather.

Remember, you’re not just trying to entertain or inform your prospects, you want to convert each one of them into a lead. So provide a call to action such as a link to a form where they can do just that.

Now here’s the cool part. When you publish a piece of content on scoop.it, either your own uploaded content or a link to yours or someone else’s content, other scoop.it members can discover the content using the tags you provided and then include it on their own surfing news feed. Now that’s a slick way to spread content.

No matter which of the ways to spread content you choose, you’re sure to attract the attention of your targeted prospects online. Add a call to action and the leads will follow.

Matt Mansfield

Columnist and Tech Editor @MattSMansfield

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Spotlight

ReachLocal Finds You Customers Near You Our Small Business Spotlight shines on ReachLocal, a company that helps small businesses find local customers in their immediate area. Read our fun Spotlight for a glimpse behind the scenes.

ReachLocal.com knows the power that these online marketing tools can have for local businesses.

Monhollon says: “ReachLocal essentially helps local businesses get more customers through online marketing. We do that using a variety of different solutions, including digital advertising — like search advertising, display advertising, and in-app advertising — making sure they have mobile responsive websites, managing their Web presence on social media, and providing software that helps them capture more leads and convert them into customers.”

Read more about ReachLocal and the impact that it can have on local businesses in the Small Business Spotlight below:

What the Business Does?

It helps local businesses reach local customers through online marketing methods.

The company’s range of services is constantly evolving to include all of the tactics available to assist local businesses in reaching this goal.

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Business Niche Providing both technology and service.

Monhollon explains: “One thing that sets |

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Spotlight ReachLocal apart is that we have built technology specifically to help local businesses, plus, we back that up with expert service and data to drive better performance. Some pure agencies only offer service.

advertising. Many of the marketing firms that were focused on search advertising at the time were mainly working on campaigns for large, nationwide brands.

“They don’t necessarily have all the data and technology that we do to help them find proven marketing methods and “ReachLocal measure the essentially success of their marketing efforts helps local in terms of the businesses get bottom line. And others focus on more customers metrics but don’t through online necessarily focus marketing” on the actual performance of small businesses.

Some will offer just technology but not help you use it or understand what’s working, while we’re dedicated to providing software with service.”

Monhollon says: “It was all about helping local businesses reach customers that were actually local. Instead of just attracting customers who might be anywhere looking for a certain type of appliance, you could target people who were looking for that appliance in your immediate area.”

Biggest win

How the Business Got Started

Delivering leads to clients every day.

As a search engine advertising company.

Monhollon explains: “Every day, to know that we are driving actual results and bring more customers to our clients, that’s a real

The company was founded in 2004. At that time, it was focused mainly on search engine

Isn’t It Time To

?

Think Outside

The Box

PLAY VIDEO 44

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win. That’s why we come here and do what we do every day.”

gets involved in their community. During the holidays our offices like to choose a local charity of their choice and take part in different charitable events throughout the year. We’re not just one big marketing agency. We’re actually in your community, too.”

Annie Pilon Staff writer @AnnieHP

Business Motto

Get involved with local communities Monhollon explains: “ReachLocal has offices in many of the local communities where we do business. So each local office

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sellonline

10

Things Service Businesses Can Sell Online

Your business may sell services instead of tangible products, but you can still sell in online transactions. It just requires “out of the box” thinking.

I

redeem for your services. Vouchers can work like online gift cards, without all the fuss of actually offering plastic credit-card-like gift cards. Here are some examples to spark your creativity:

t is easy to sell a physical product online in eCommerce. But what if you run a service business, where instead of tangible products you provide services to customers or clients?

Having something to sell online is not always easy to figure out for your business model.

• Cable Car Couture is offering “virtual wardrobe styling” services via vouchers.

The good news is, even if you are a consultant, designer or coach, or if you run a digital agency, restaurant, landscaping service or other service business, you can sell online with a shopping cart. You just have to think outside the box and package up your services into something you can describe clearly and apply a set price to.

• Bollysteps, a dance studio, is offering vouchers for 4-week dance classes.

• Digital agencies and publishers use vouchers to offer turnkey service offerings such as Pinterest marketing services.

• A restaurant can create special vouchers for discounted meal packages.

Here are ten things you can sell as a service provider, even when you don’t have a physical item to sell:

Some eCommerce platforms, such as Meylah.com and BigCartel.com, make it easy to create vouchers. You can also create vouchers using a WordPress plugin such as Voucherpress.

1. Vouchers and Gift Certificates Provide customers with digital vouchers to 46

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2. Videos

• Employee vacation tracker template

by Vertex

If you have a skill that can be demonstrated, chances are someone somewhere in the world who will want to learn it, too. YouTube has made it easier for people to earn. You can create original videos and monetize them through ads, which YouTube splits with the video creator.

• Event planning in a kit

4. Training You can sell your expertise in the form of packaged training courses. Training platforms such as Udemy and Skillshare make it easy to sell training in anything from Six Sigma principles to information technology to marketing. Here are some examples:

But ad revenue is not the only way to monetize videos. You could create an ongoing subscription that gives access to monthly videos. Or create a pay-per-view type model.

For example, Digital Marketer offers videos for a flat fee as part of its courses. Extreme Seal Videos provides some free videos and charges a membership fee to see the full version of others.

• Entrepreneur’s guide to Facebook content on Udemy • Getting started with email marketing on Skillshare • Digital branding and execution on Edx

5. Digital Goods

YouTube allows you to create original videos and monetize them through ads.

But ad revenue is not the only way to monetize videos.

Digital goods are another way to package up what you know or do best and sell it. Digital goods could be anything from software to ebooks to designs.

Any digital file when creatively packaged can be sold online.

Here are some types to consider:

Or use a platform such as Vimeo on Demand, where you charge a fee for your video. Vimeo gets 10 percent of the revenue and you keep the remaining 90 percent.

• Whitepapers • Photographs • Fonts

3. Templates and Themes

• Patterns for crafts and clothing

There is a huge demand for website themes and templates built on popular content management systems like WordPress and Drupal. But you don’t have to be a Web designer or developer to sell templates. A management consultant, for example, can sell business templates. Here are some examples of templates that service providers sell for add-on revenue streams:

• Specialty clip art • Kindle ebooks • Recipes In the software realm, there’s Yoast’s premium WordPress plugins. Yoast has packaged up his company’s know-how into software in a one-to-many formula. He has taken it a step further, and offers free plugins as well as paid plugins that offer extra features. Free plugins are a superb marketing tool, while the paid plugins are revenue-generating products.

• Website templates through ThemeForest. net • Resume templates by Inkpower 47

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sell online

6. Coaching Sessions You can reach many more potential students by making your coaching services available online, packaged up into 15-minute, 30-minute or 60-minute increments. Include an appointment booking application on your website so that students can schedule a session instantly, and a shopping cart to pay for the session. Then use a video service such as Skype or Google Hangouts to deliver the coaching session.

A tiered approach works well — e.g., beginner, intermediate, advanced. Students can aim for completing tiers sequentially, thus providing you with repeat business. Or provide regular monthly or biweekly coaching. An example is Rainmaker Skype-based sales coaching.

7. Assessments Assessments start with questionnaires and involve customized evaluations. While short initial assessments are often given free by service providers as part of their marketing, you can structure it so that more in-depth assessments come with a price tag. In that case, the assessment becomes a product offering, not a marketing technique. Just carefully outline what is included and not included in the assessment, and set a flat price for it. For example, Sports and Physical

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Therapy and Performance Centers sells golf swing assessments.

8. Research Reports If your business involves gathering of aggregated data or performing research in your industry, you may be able to monetize it by selling research reports online. Research reports are highly valued by organizations and individuals making business decisions.

One example of selling research as a subscription is emarketer.com.

You don’t even need to create the data yourself. You can add value simply by providing in-depth analysis of, say, government statistics or industry trends.

9. Subscriptions to Your Service If you turn your offering into a subscription service, you can earn every month and be assured of a regular ongoing revenue stream.

To turn your services into a subscription, think outside the box. For instance, instead of providing one-on-one consulting services, you might provide a private online forum where you answer questions for members. You might also create a series of members-only materials for subscribers. In other words instead of providing one-to-one

An example is the Amazon affiliate program, where you earn a commission for “selling” digital goods such as MP3 downloads and ebooks (and physical goods too!). Check out dedicated sites like CJ.com, ClickBank and ShareaSale where you can find affiliate programs that fit your niche and audience.

services, you transform it into a one-to-many type of offering.

One example is the Freelance Writers Den, a membership site that teaches freelance writers how to “stop starving” and make a better living, with two levels of monthly subscriptions.

Now, what about your business model? Can you think of any other things as a service business that you can package up and sell online?

Another variation is Reach Local. It offers several tiers of marketing services for local businesses, for a monthly subscription fee.

10. Selling Products Through Affiliate Arrangements Finally, you don’t even need your own products. You can sell the digital items of third parties through affiliate advertising arrangements. For every successful sale of that party’s digital goods, you get paid a commission.

Chaitra Vedullapalli CMO, Meylah @Meylah

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6DOT DIGITAL ANALYZER

IS YOUR BUSINESS DIGITALLY READY

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INTERVIEW

Adrienne Weissman Talks Marketing Automation for Small Business In this executive interview, G2 Crowd’s chief marketing officer gives insights into recent trends in marketing automation and what small businesses are looking for when choosing solutions in this growing tech sector.

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Small Business Trends: Before we jump into this really interesting report you did around marketing automation, tell us a little bit about your personal background.

here have never been more options for small businesses looking to use marketing automation services. They are more affordable and easier to use than ever before.

And the services these systems provide are more important than ever as catching and keeping the attention of today’s customer is more challenging than ever before.

Adrienne: I’ve been at G2 Crowd now just for about six months, and I most recently joined from LinkedIn. I’ve spent a lot of my career in the emerging and incubator type of markets where I’ve been really focused on disrupting the norms and the status quo in order to help consumers and users and professionals have much more productive outcomes, whether it’s in their job or their day-to-day. I started at Google a number of years ago, and eventually made the move over to LinkedIn and really started to focus

Adrienne Weissman, CMO of software review platform G2 Crowd, discusses the results of the new marketing automation grid the company recently released. Particularly she focuses on what areas of marketing automation are most important to small businesses, how they score vendors, and which vendors came out on top.

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INTERVIEW potentially disrupting the applecart or sometimes really being very niche about what they are offering to potential customers. So marketing automation is a report that we’ve been able to generate a couple of times now because it is a very popular category and people are very willing to share their point of view on products that they have purchased for their organizations. And so because of that we have actually a very nice report with a lot of content and a lot of reviews that are supporting the small, medium and enterprise level customers out there.

on the B2B side of things. And along came this really cool opportunity here at G2 Crowd which aligned and still aligns very nicely with LinkedIn’s vision, and that is to make the world’s professionals more productive and successful.

Small Business Trends: Why don’t you tell us a little bit more about G2 Crowd?

Adrienne: G2 Crowd was established to help provide much more visibility into the software buying process. To date, you were able to find a whole lot more information about where you were going to go eat or what kind of clothes to buy. But you had very little visibility into making software purchases for your company or organizations. And as we know, making some of those purchasing decisions can cost upwards of multiple thousands of dollars, if not, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars. So our goal has been trying to provide insight into how customers and users of software products really have benefited from the purchases they’ve made, so now small business owners in particular, and professionals across the board, can really start to look at what [softwares] are going to be most applicable to their challenges. And that is really how G2 Crowd came around.

Small Business Trends: So you’ve broken down — it’s called the G2 Crowd grid for marketing automation. Maybe you could tell us about the four quadrants, so to speak, and what do they mean in terms of if I’m somebody looking for marketing automation software.

Adrienne: What we do is ask a fair amount of questions about how an individual is using the product, what features they like best; there’s a lot of data points that are asked in the review surveys that we send out. After we’ve collected a large number of surveys and hit a certain scale, we’re able to start mapping the product onto our grid. And it is mapped according to customer satisfaction as well as market presence; meaning products, company size as well as the customers they serve, lots of other data points like revenue, total number of employees, that really feed into how we map out here. It’s a nice algorithm around customer satisfaction and NPS scores, balanced out with market presence.

Small Business Trends: So let’s talk about the recent grid that you put out around marketing automation. Maybe you could tell us at a high level the parameters around it.

Adrienne: We’ve done a lot of work in the marketing space as a whole. When you think about marketing automation in particular, there are a lot of players in that space, and it is becoming more and more competitive.

You see brands starting to separate from the pack as well as new brands coming into the marketplace that are really focused on

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Then looking at the four quadrants that make up the grid, in the top right hand corner you’ve got the Leaders, and those are the brands that have gotten really high customer

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satisfaction scores, as well as have a deepened market presence. The bottom right quadrant is the High Performers; those are brands that are getting really nice customer satisfaction scores, really good reviews, but may not yet have the market presence to compete with some of the larger brands that tend to fall into the Leaders quadrant.

The bottom left hand corner are the Niche products. They tend to probably address one of the different audience sizes: small, medium and enterprise; may have a smaller market presence or do not have a strong customer satisfaction score as yet; but are certainly on the grid and making some moves in the marketplace. And then lastly, the top left quadrant are the Contenders.

Market presence tends to be a little bit larger, customer satisfaction is either improving and/or increasing, and it certainly also tends to serve certain markets that some of the others are much more broadly serving.

tends to be some of the key features that are most important. A lot of things that we’re also seeing as highly important are the ability for the social components. Social listening, social sharing and social campaigns are becoming more important. Reporting, of course, is always a key feature that is very important to most customers.

Small Business Trends: What about things like price? Because we all know small businesses are kind of focused sometimes on price — price, but also support.

Adrienne: Those are very important. Support in particular is very important, especially because small business customers don’t tend to have as many people that can really support a marketing team. So a lot of times the marketing teams within a small business tend to be one to two people, and even sometimes it’s like a half a person, really. And so being able to help small businesses with support and direction is very critical in some of the features that they’re looking for.

Small Business Trends: You have folks in the leader group for the SMB space, like HubSpot and Pardot, which of course is now Salesforce, and Act-On. What are some of the key areas or categories that are really important to the SMB buyer, when it comes to looking at marketing automation?

Adoption and implementation is also very important. The ability to implement simply and go live within a short period of time is very important. Most SMB customers are looking for it to be less than one month for implementation.

Adrienne: For SMBs I think a lot of the features that are most highly rated tend to fall into email marketing: the ability to build and personalize emails; ability to send outbound emails; really the ability to automate a lot of their online marketing tactics — things like A/B testing, search tracking and optimization — as well as being very thoughtful about lead management and the nurture stream that marketing automation is very well known for.

Small Business Trends: As you move forward with this over time, are there certain categories that you think are going to become even more important than they are today — or maybe less important in the future?

Adrienne: I’m not sure about more important versus less important. I think marketing automation and CRM worlds are starting to become more and more blurry. I think same with social listening and social monitoring and social management, in that some of these

So, again, the ability to be tactical enough for a small business to implement across their goals and objectives for their quarter or year 53

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INTERVIEW brands in each of those categories really can play in other categories. So there might be a time where consolidation might happen more quickly. The entrance of other players that can do all those things might pick up even further.

One thing we do track between reports [is] products’ velocity on the grid — those that have changed pretty rapidly in a short period of time. For example, Act-On — their customer satisfaction score increased by 9 percent, and the market presence increased by 22 percent in just one year. Pardot had a really nice jump as well. So we’re tracking what these products and brands are doing and really tracking what their customers are thinking about what they’re offering to them as a product and service.

Adrienne: Yeah, so you certainly can go to G2Crowd.com and navigate through there.

Small Business Trends: One last thing I started thinking about. Could you give us your definition for SMBs? Adrienne: Sure. The way we’ve broken up the grids, small businesses are companies with fewer than 50 employees. Mid-market represents companies with 51 to 1,000 employees, and then once you get to enterprise it’s 1,001 upwards, is how we look at the different segments.

Brent Leary

Partner, CRM Essentials @BrentLeary

Small Business Trends: Where can people go to learn more about this particular grid but also what G2 Crowd is doing in general?

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