More small businesses use Twitter, Facebook to promote versus traditional advertising
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Posted By: Andy Willoughby
Here is an article from the USA Today about the growing use of social media among small businesses. More of them are choosing to utilize social media at the expense of traditional forms of advertising. Small businesses view it as an easy way to maintain contact with current customers while reaching out to new ones.
A new study by MerchantCircle found that more than half of nearly 10,000 respondents nationwide said they plan to create or maintain a social networking presence in the next three months. This number is the highest since the survey began a year ago and is up from 41% in the first three months this year.
More small businesses use Twitter, Facebook to promote
SAN FRANCISCO — A surge in social-media use by small businesses reflects a shift in how they operate and their comfort with increasingly easy-to-use technology.In growing numbers, small-business owners are adopting social-networking services, location-based services, Twitter and online video to promote products and services, according to a new study by MerchantCircle, a social network for small businesses. It polled a fraction of its more than 1.3 million members.
The survey results are the strongest evidence yet that small businesses — which account for more than 90% of all U.S. companies and fuel the economy — are accelerating their use of social media at the expense of traditional media such as newspapers, the Yellow Pages and radio. Even e-mail messages have taken a beating.
Businesses with fewer than five employees “see Facebook and others as a way to reach targeted consumers” while saving marketing expenditures during a rough economy, says Darren Waddell, vice president of marketing at MerchantCircle.
Mompreneur Shares How to Maximize Time
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Posted by: Andy Willoughby
Here is an article from Entrepreneur Magazine written by Lisa Druxman about the difficult choices that entrepreneur moms have to make.
No matter what your stage in motherhood, it really is a full-time job. I don’t know a single stay-at-home mom who feels she has extra hours in the day. Now, add running a business to that never-ending job, and it’s easy to see how it’s a formula for becoming overwhelmed. Nevertheless, so many of us hit the trenches each day as both mom and entrepreneur. Personally, I’m on a never-ending journey to make the formula work.
You’ve heard it before. We all have the same 24 hours. So, if we are filling those hours with business and motherhood, something has to give. I asked women all over the country what they have given up in order to be a mom in business, and here’s a sampling of what they said: