Online shoppers shopping smaller

Quote

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Cynthia Closkey

“Giant e-commerce companies like Amazon are acting increasingly like their big-box brethren as they extinguish small competitors with discounted prices, free shipping and easy-to-use apps. Big online retailers had a 19 percent jump in revenue over the holidays versus 2010, while at smaller online retailers growth was just 7 percent.

“The little sites are fighting back with some tactics of their own, like preventing price comparisons or offering freebies that an anonymous large site can’t. And in a new twist, they are also exploiting the sympathies of shoppers like Dr. Pollack by encouraging customers to think of them as the digital version of a mom-and-pop shop facing off against Walmart: If you can’t shop close to home, at least shop small.”

From “Online Shoppers Are Rooting for the Little Guy,” by Stephanie Clifford and Claire Cain Miller, New York Times, 1/16/2012.

Be a Favorite Place on Google

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Cynthia Closkey

Big Big Design is a Favorite Place on Google

We received Big Big Design’s “Favorite Place on Google” sticker today, and I’m geekily excited.

The sticker is a window decal with a barcode that points to our business listing on Google and Google Maps. A person with a camera phone can scan the barcode to see our listing, including information we post there — hours, coupons and specials, reviews from customers or clients, photos and videos.

This is all free from Google, and it’s a nice tool set for any business or organization that has a local client or customer base. It’s part of a Google Local Business Center listing, which can act as a small and simple webpage for your business or as a landing page that points to your full website.

To get started, log in with a Google account (or sign up for a free Google account) and visit google.com/localbusinesscenter. Start out with just basic information, and add to it over time. You’ll also be able to see how many people are looking at your listing, searching for your business, and more.

Need help? Give us a call.

20 Presence Management Chores for Business You COULD Do Every Day

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Cynthia Closkey

Photo credit: enviziondotnet

A few weeks back, new media marketer extraordinaire Chris Brogan shared ideas and suggestions for maintaining a personal presence online. (“19 Presence Management Chores You COULD Do Every Day“) The list is dense and ambitious, but the time you put into this kind of effort pays off.

If you’re charged with maintaining the social media presence of a company, the list still holds great value, but it might need a bit of translation. When you speak for your company or for a brand, you’re stepping outside your individual persona, and your actions should reflect that. This is also true if you maintain separate online presences for your personal self and your work self.

Here’s my take on key online presence management chores for a company or brand. Continue reading →

Get on the map

Posted on June 8, 2008 by Cynthia Closkey

Flower shop on Google Maps originally uploaded by Larsz

If your business or organization focuses on local clients and customers, the most effective way to make sure they find you on the Web is to get listed on online map services, like Google Maps, MapQuest, and MSN Live Search.

These free business listings are an easy way to get your website to show up in searches — and they’re far cheaper than any search engine optimization available.

Listings take just a few minutes to create (although they take a bit longer to activate). Read on to find out what you’ll need, where to go, and what to do.

Continue reading →

Secret weapon that’s no longer secret: Blogging for business

Posted on May 31, 2008 by Cynthia Closkey

The excellent blog of SmallFuel Marketing is full of great information about how to do better marketing for small business. But iif you don’t have time to read through the whole site, you can at least check out this article on the whys and hows of small business blogging:

The big picture of blogging for business goes something like this. In
order to be successful with business blogging you’ll need to put in a
good amount of time. Blogs need to be updated regularly, most people
say between 3-5 times per week, so there is a lot of writing involved.
Also, blogging is a very social activity. This means that you should
read and comment on other blogs, as well as network and build
relationships with other bloggers. In summary, it takes time and
effort.

The result of your efforts, however, can be truly outstanding. A
well-designed and frequently updated blog can boost your website to the
top of search results (blogs are awesome from an SEO perspective), it
can draw in thousands of visitors, and it can help build your image as
an authority. A successful blog can serve as branding, advertising,
networking, and sales all rolled into one. And they don’t even cost
much.

The article is full of links to other useful resources too.

Bottom line: While a good blog requires time and effort, it provides excellent return on that investment.

(Link thanks to FreelanceSwitch.)

Mayday! The benefits of asking for help

Posted on April 9, 2008 by Cynthia Closkey

Asking for help and incorporating what other can do for you will make
you more productive, but will also open up perspectives and points of
view that you might not have possessed previously. Asking for help
also creates an obligation for you to return the favor or at least be
available to help others. This creates a sense of shared work and
shared effort, and builds a stronger team. When individuals don’t seek
each other’s advice, team building and collaboration are much harder to
achieve.

Thinking Faster touts the benefits of asking for help. This is great advice for small business owners and entrepreneurs who are used to carrying the weight themselves: Share the load with others, and you’ll be stronger and go faster.

(Link thanks to Designing Innovations.)