Twitter And Your Small Business

When it comes to social media sites, Twitter offers a unique way for businesses to communicate by allowing them to send 140 character updates about their products, services, and other important news.

Launched in 2006, Twitter employs fewer than one hundred people and it doesn’t turn a profit. In fact, it doesn’t even make much money (yet), which isn’t the way you’d run your business. Then again, when investors have pumped millions into your business model with only an expectancy of an eventual return on their investment, then you have to figure that there is something about Twitter besides tweets.

Obviously, fifty million plus users think that Twitter has staying power – is your business tweeting yet?

Tracking Twitter

I signed up for Twitter back in 2007, but only began taking this micro-blogging platform (short messaging service) seriously in January 2009. I now manage three accounts which I use to tweet up and follow news for my clients as well as for my businesses, an important way for me to connect with other like-minded people.

My one regret is that I didn’t get started earlier, but I’m glad to be actively involved with Twitter now. If you own a business, whether that be a multinational conglomerate or a sole proprietorship selling fashion handbags, you can benefit by using Twitter as one way to extend your brand.

In fact, if you don’t use Twitter you may be ceding an important point to your competitors. During these economically challenging times you cannot allow anyone to steal your thunder or at least out shout you online.

Business Essentials

With this article, I’m not going to cover the basic Twitter stuff (please see the resources following for more information), but I will cover some points I believe every business owner should consider when making use of Twitter.

Your Good Name – Twitter is much like the wild west activity of the earliest days of the internet where rampant lawlessness reigned. Conceivably, one of your competitors can use your name to bring your customers to them.

Is this illegal? It could be, but you’ll never know about that sort of activity if you haven’t signed up with Twitter or aren’t monitoring the site. If someone does rip off your name, you can contact Twitter to cancel their account, but be forewarned: Twitter doesn’t have the resources to handle every single complaint quickly.

Your Product Pitch – Once you set up a Twitter account, you then can fill out a profile to customize your site.

Some very important things to consider: use your business logo or related photo by uploading a 700K or less gif, jpg, or png picture; fill out the 160 character profile to describe who you are/what you are selling; include a link back to your site; and consider opening up additional Twitter accounts if have multiple products you are selling.

In addition, change your standard Twitter background to complement what you’re all about. Visual appeal is important to help attract people to you online.

Tweeting v. Listening – You can send 140 character updates to your heart’s content, but perhaps one of the best ways to see how Twitter works is to discover what business mentions are being tweeted.

Known as “inbound signaling” you can learn what people are saying about your product or company by using a desktop application such as TweetDeck or search.twitter.com to find out. This is very important especially if you want feedback about a recent product launch or discover a quality issue before it gets out of control.

Direct or Indirect – One complaint that small businesses have about Twitter is that they simply don’t have the time to tweet directly. But businesses may not realize that some of their employees could be regular Twitter users and might be able to tweet on their behalf.

Instead of paying your employees to tweet on their own time, why not allow them to take some time out of their work day to send and review tweets? Warning: you can’t control what your people tweet and a disgruntled worker can spread negative news quickly.

Getting Started

Perhaps the best strategy for any business to get started on Twitter is to secure their company’s name (branding), then plan the next approach. There are businesses available who will tweet on your behalf and you can even use services such as Ad.ly to send the occasional paid tweet ad out on your behalf.

But be forewarned: Twitter users are among the most savvy people online and they may not take kindly to an overt pitch offered through a third party service. Use this method sparingly, not glaringly.

Resources

4 Ways Companies Use Twitter for Business (Read/Write/Web)

5 Twitter Tactics for Building a Stellar Brand

Marketing Small Businesses With Twitter

Twitter 101 for Small Business

Adv. — Are you thinking about buying our building a new business in 2010? You aren’t alone. Plenty of people are looking for a secure future, something that a business can provide for them.  The NACBB Business Brokers list businesses for sale in the Washington, DC and northern Virginia areas; please check out our listings today!

Tags: micro-blogging, short messaging service, small business, Social Media, Tweets, Twitter

You’ve seen the ads and have probably heard stories where an individual claims to have secured thousands of dollars in grant money from the federal government. No, I’m not talking about money that has to be paid back, rather funds which were given to them courtesy of Washington, DC.

Unfortunately, almost every last one of those claims is either an exaggeration or an outright lie.

Let me be clear about this point: the federal government is NOT a significant dispenser of grant money to individuals. What they do provide, however, is funding to the states and local governments for them to use for economic development. In some cases, a state may make some funds available to small businesses in the form of grants, but that is on a state by state basis.

Local Grant Money

How do you find grant money at the state level? Well, it can a little research on your part but heading off to your state’s website should get you there. That effort might be as easy as entering nc.gov or state.nc.us into your browser and getting your state’s website to appear. NC, of course, represents North Carolina, therefore you should substitute your state’s two-letter code to find the right website.

Once you’ve located your state’s website, search for the “Department of Corporations” or “Small Business Development Department” section or similarly named group to look for details about grant money. Whatever programs your state has to offer right now should be mentioned, pending funding.

And therein lies the rub – many states have been cutting their budgets steadily since 2007, whacking this program or trimming that plan. A program could be in place, but that doesn’t mean it is being adequately funded at the moment.

ARRA Funding

It appears that federal government money will soon be flowing again thanks to funds set aside from the $787 billion stimulus package, officially knowns as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. That act expanded unemployment benefits and certain other welfare stipulations as well as slashing taxes and spending money on education, energy, infrastructure and health care.

Funds are gradually making their way to their intended sources which means that if your business is focused on the environment, education or health care, you may be eligible for financial support. Why not make contact with someone “in the know” at the state or city level to see what is being planned? This could be your opportunity to get some much needed help while the funding is in place.

Other Small Business Resources

Small Business Administration

Small Business Grants

Photo Credit: Kamil Dratwa

Adv. — Sinks | Lighting | Mirrors | Bedroom | Bunks | Eco Sleep

Tags: Education, environment, federal money, grant money, health care, small business, state grants

Many federal government officials and business analysts are declaring the most recent recession “over” a startling admission given sustained near double-digit unemployment and continued challenges in the real estate market. Plenty of Americans are struggling, trying to find enough work to pay their bills and keep their homes.

Tough Year Ahead?

Likely, 2010 will be challenging no matter what sort of “recovery” takes place. Unlike previous recessions, where small businesses led the country into a new era of economic prosperity, many business owners are still struggling, doing what they can to survive.

What does it take to start a business? Not much. An idea and a handshake can get you going.

Oddly, this may turn out to be an excellent time for you to launch your own business for the simple reason you may have exhausted all other options. Weeks of looking for work have given way to months, with some people approaching their first full year of unemployment. Instead of waiting for what may be a lackluster rebound, perhaps starting a new business is the best approach.

Launch Your Business

These days, many small businesses don’t have to be well capitalized in order to get going. If you own a computer, have a telephone and some space where you can work, then you have the makings of a “world headquarters” for your business. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can launch your business in the worst of economic times:

Low Overhead – Likely, you’re launching your business without any employees. If that is the case, then the only person you have to be concerned about is you. Resist the lure of renting an office or storefront, handling whatever you can right from your home. Sure, if your enterprise requires foot traffic, you could be in violation of your neighborhood covenant or operating contrary to township rules, but for most other situations your home is your business address.

Advertising Dollars – The lure of starting a business means that you need to tell people you are open for business. Unfortunately, advertising can get expensive, something you may not be able to afford in the first place. Look to “getting the word out” in cost free ways, by becoming actively engaged with your customers through social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook while making good use of your telephone to “cold call” your customers.

Contract Workers – Instead of hiring people, consider working with contractors who can provide the services you need, when you need them. Online, you can find article writers, marketing professionals, accountants and other qualified people who can complete tasks for a fee with no permanent obligation to you. You’ll only need to issue 1099 forms at year end if their earnings exceed $600.

Barter Services – Although cash is king, bartering can certainly come in handy if you simply do not have the funds to pay for a needed service. Exchange your accounting skills for someone who offers their marketing talent, keeping in mind that the IRS considers bartering to be “taxable” which means that you’ll be required to report your exchange on your income taxes.

Of course, not every business will succeed but not starting a business in the first place won’t reveal if you have what it takes to make a go of it. Find something you like doing, do it with all of your might and you just may set the groundwork for your passion, one that pays you for what you love too!

Photo Credit: Mike Johnson

Adv. — Are you looking to start a new business? Why not consider purchasing an existing enterprise? The National Association of Certified Business Brokers can help you get started while The Novars Group offers tips and consultation for prospective and current owners.

Tags: advertising, barter, business broker, employees, overhead, recession, small business

Some analysts are declaring that the recession has ended, indicating that good times are now upon up. Indeed, after bottoming out this past March, the stock market has reversed course and is up by nearly fifty percent for the year.

Before you launch your business, you'll need to make sure that your finances are in order and that your plan is a solid one.

Whether we’ve truly seen the last of the downturn remains to be seen as ongoing bank failures and a troubled real estate market could force the market down once again. But for many Americans they’re not waiting for everything to shake out, choosing instead to launch a new business and take charge of their lives.

Let’s take a look at seven of the hottest tips for today’s business start ups, ideas which can help you succeed in your new endeavor:

1. Financing – Do you have enough money to launch a business? At home businesses generally have a low overhead, thanks to in home office space, utilities and the sharing of an internet connection. But for businesses set to launch outside of the home, expenses surge which means money will be needed in order to keep things flowing. Unless you already have a large stash of cash to tap, you’ll probably need the help of angel investors or venture capitalists to help fund your endeavor. Interest rates can be quite high or you may be required to cede a portion of ownership in exchange for funding.

2. Real Estate – Relating to the first point, financing, how much room do you need for your business? And, if needed, can you gain additional room without having to relocate? Your physical location may be of extreme importance, especially if you rely upon foot traffic. How much will you pay per square foot? What will your utilities run? How long of a lease will you sign?

3. Planning – Do you have a business plan in place? If so, do you have contingencies built in should you fail to meet certain expected criteria? Lots of new businesses quickly fail because their owners do not consider possible negative ramifications that can arise. If expected sales don’t materialize within a certain period of time, what will your response be?

4. Marketing – How will you tell people about your business? Advertising costs can be costly and not every method is effective. Newspapers, internet, radio and television time are standard ways to advertise as well as sponsoring events, road signage and industry networking.

5. Networking – Marketing is geared more toward reaching your customers while networking is teaming up with other businesses through various associations including the Better Business Bureau. Through networking, you can meet people who can help finance your business, share marketing tips, provide tools to help your business succeed, etc.

6. Purchasing – Where will you get your product from? What sort of costs will you incur and when will payment be expected? Payment terms can trump price especially if the terms prove to be unfavorable. Look at a variety of supplier sources and compare payment terms to come up with the best arrangement for you.

7. Pay Yourself – Unless you are independently wealthy, you’ll need to tap your business at some point to live on. You may have savings set aside for one or two years, perhaps longer, but at some point you’ll need to pay yourself. Prepare well in advance for the day when you need to withdraw funds for your own use.

Running a business can be tremendously rewarding, but time consuming. By putting a sound business plan in place before you launch, you can reduce your stress, increase your income, and ensure that your entity gets off on the right footing.

Adv. — If you’re interested in buying an established business, then visit the National Association of Certified Business Brokers (NACBB) and check out their current listings.

Tags: business start up, financing, marketing, networking, planning, purchasing, real estate, small business