Menu

Small Business Resources

How Does Business Certification Work; A Look at HUBZone Business Certification

, , , , , , , , , ,

HUBZone Certifications from BizCentral USAHow Does Business Certification Work;  

A Look at HUBZone Business Certification

 

By Felix Zapata

Are you a small business owner located in an economically distressed urban or rural community with high unemployment or low income levels?  Are you looking for help with federal contracting and interested in becoming certified in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone Certification) program? If so, you may be eligible for the program if you can answer yes to the following questions.  Ask yourself:

  • Am I a small business according to SBA’s size standards?
  • Is my business 51 percent owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen?
  • Is my principal office located in a HUBZone Certification designated area?
  • Do at least 35 percent of my employees reside in a HUBZone Certification designated area?

HUBZone Certification Program – What is it? The HUBZone Certification program — enacted in 1997 – helps small businesses located in HUBZones get contract help, thus promoting job growth, capital investment and HUBZone Certification from BizCentral USAeconomic development in economically depressed areas, in both rural and urban communities, and on Indian reservations.  The federal government has a goal of awarding 3 percent of its contracts each year (measured in dollars) to eligible HUBZone certification small businesses.  In FY 2010, the federal government awarded $11.97 billion to HUBZone Certification firms. Small businesses certified in the HUBZone Certification program are eligible for three types of contracts including:

  • set-aside contracts (only HUBZone Certification businesses submit offers)
  • sole-source contracts (for some contracts with an anticipated award price between $3.5 million and $5.5 million, the government can give a contract to a HUBZone Certification after soliciting and negotiating with just that one single company, depending on what business sector the company operates in.
  • full and open competitive contracts (HUBZone Certification companies compete with other bidders, but get a 10 percent price preference).

HUBZone Certification from BizCentral USAHow do I Know If My Business is in a HUBZone Certification Designated Area? HUBZones are located across the U.S. and its territories.  These areas are largely based on unemployment and income data.   These areas include:

  • qualified census tracts determined by the Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD)
  • qualified non-metropolitan counties
  • difficult development areas
  • qualified Indian reservations
  • former military bases closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC)

To see if your area is a designated HUBZone Certification and to apply for the program, visit www.sba.gov/hubzone. What’s New with the HUBZone Certification Program?HUBZone Certification from BizCentral USA On September 1, 2011, the SBA informed HUBZone companies by e-mail of the expiration of some re-designated areas on Oct. 1, 2011, the date the Census Bureau publicly released the first results of its 2010 decennial census.  Re-designated areas are HUBZones that lost their HUBZone Certification eligibility before October 1, 2008, generally because of changes in their unemployment and/or income status, but were temporarily re designated as HUBZones Certification until Oct. 1, 2011. Since some of the re-designated areas will no longer be HUBZones, the SBA encourages small businesses located in these areas to go to the HUBZone Certification locator on its Web site to determine whether they are located in one of these expiring areas. In October 2011, the SBA sent out letters proposing desertification for HUBZone Certification businesses located in expiring re-designated areas.  Small businesses also have the option of submitting a voluntary desertification agreement.   HUBZone Certification firms desertification from the program must wait 90 days from the date of desertification to reapply for HUBZone certification.  Companies currently working on a HUBZone Certification contract may continue to work on the contract.

HUBZone Certification

 

 

Are you leaving money on the table?  Are there contracts you could be getting that you are excluded from by not getting a simple certification?  We will discuss the many ways you can be certified, based on location, minority status, sex, veteran status even business type in some cases.  You can be certified on a local, state or national level, and each level could mean more contracts!

Benefits of Business Certifications with Felix Zapata

Webinar Registration

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm est online from BizCentral USA Key Note Speaker: Felix Zapata Join us for the rare chance to look into the world of certifications.  Discover the benefits of federal and state HUBZone Certification from BizCentral USAminority certification, and the whole gamete of certifications that can give you the edge in competition and authorize you to bid on state and federal contracts.  You will benefit greatly from the knowledge if only to enlighten you on what may be available for your company.  All it takes is the knowledge and desire to succeed; we give you the knowledge FREE in this information packed webinar! Contact Business Consultant Howard Walker for more info at Felix@Bizcentralusa.com or call him at (407) 857-9002 Register Now, even if you can’t attend we will send you a link to the recorded webinar after the event. Your Friends in the Struggle, BizCentral USA

Related Blogs

    Top Experts Reveal 7 Secrets of Marketing Online

    , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    7 secrets of Marketing
    7 secrets of Marketing

    Top Experts Reveal 7 Secrets of Marketing Online

    Written and Compiled by:  Thomas R. Reich PhD

     

    Today we explore the secrets of marketing; we talk with 7 marketing experts.  What each one thinks will help your organization grow and develop in your marketing efforts.  Each secret is a great piece of advice from a unique marketing expert.  Secrets of marketing are advice that, if you add it to your marketing program, will help the internet work for you.  Become a marketing mogul, a publisher and an expert in your field!  Want to know how to start doing it right now? Read on.

     

    Tip # 1 – To market effectively, you must become an expert in your field.  In the world of secrets of Marketingtoday’s internet, this is easily accomplished.  It is important that you don’t try to be a jack of all trades.  One secret of marketing is to concentrate your total efforts throughout your entire network on one area of expertise that highlights your organization in a positive way!

     

    Jennifer Bourn of Born Creative wrote “Don’t waste your time being good at lots of things. These days, people don’t want to work with some who is good. Consumer expectations have risen and consumers want to work with people who are great. They want to work with brilliant experts!”

     

    secrets of MarketingTip # 2 – Bring your marketing programs into 2013, forget about any marketing guides old enough to talk about Yellow Pages and Industry Journal adds.

     

    Jim Connolly, London Marketing Expert  wrote:  “If you want to avoid wasting stacks of money and missing countless sales opportunities, throw your old marketing guides and audio programs in the recycling bin!

    You need to know what works today; where even the smallest business can advertise itself to millions online for less than the cost of a one-off trade journal advert – AND – where you can mail a million potential clients in a few hours for just pennies.”

     

    Tip # 3 – Spend some time learning the way social media works and how it can benefit your company.  Learning the difference secrets of Marketing between using social media for fun and using it for business is a big secret of marketing.

     

    Thomas R. Reich of BizCentral USA wrote:  “Using a properly designed social media network and a functional nonprofit website can replace the old fashioned Yellow Pages.”

     

    secrets of MarketingTip # 4 – You must set yourself up for success by creating good quality content, the tricks and tips are nice to help good content get more exposure, but one of the biggest secrets of marketing here is that good content is the key.

     

    Brad Smith of Fix Course Marketing wrote:  “Be a Publisher First: Online marketing can’t exist without content. No SEO. No email marketing. No social media. That means you’re in the media business. So you better start learning how to create valuable content. Check out Red Bull, American Express and Lowe’s for good examples.”

     

    Tip # 5 – One of the big secrets of marketing to create great content, and use that content to increase your status as an expert secrets of Marketingis to do customer case studies or spotlights.  Doing a story on your best customers makes you and your business look great and gives them some positive exposure at the same time.

     

    Neil Patel of Quick Sprout wrote:  “If you already have happy customers, why not get a case study from them? Get them to talk about your product or service, how they used it, and the results they got.  Case studies can help build credibility for your company, and get you new customers. One company that is notoriously known for creating case studies is Conversion Rate Experts, and through them they have been able to lock in a handful of customers.”

    secrets of MarketingTip # 6 – Don’t miss out on all the free advertising available to you in your local market.  There are any number for free local directories on line in your area and if you do not go online and fully sign up with a complete profile of your business, you are tossing money out the window.

     

    Janet Attard of Business Know-How wrote:  “Set up a free listing for your business in search engine local directories. You can do this at Google.com/local/; Bing.com/local/; and listings.local.yahoo.com/ Be sure to include your website link and business description.”

     

    Tip # 7 – Another of the biggest secrets of marketing is information and information that is interesting enough for your secrets of Marketingreaders to pass it on can drastically increase your marketing reach.

     

    Davis Searns of Haley Marketing wrote:  “An Idea Virus is a marketing message that spreads from one person to another without your intervention. Some idea viruses are entertaining while others reward people for sharing. They may be based on humor, contain intriguing information, or in some other way engage the recipient. Examples include: Refer a friend options on e-mail newsletters, online contests, Blog content that creates, Engaging twitter followers, Using social networking groups, Jokes and photos on Facebook”

     

    7 secrets of MarketingOne final tip: Here is my #1 of the secrets of marketing as of today, do yourself a favor and read up on the Pinterest blogs here in this website and the many available in the vast world of internet search.  Pinterest is the single most important thing you can do on the internet right now.

     

    Thomas R. Reich of TroblinReich.com wrote:  “I was asked what I thought was the 1 most important thing I could do today to increase traffic to all my marketing efforts on the internet.  There are many answers to that questions but, I would have to say Pinterest.   A well set up and active Pinterest, properly linked and completely SEO Optimized can bring more marketing traffic to your website than anything out there today!”

    Related Blogs

      20 Marketing Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Know!

      , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

      Marketing tips20 Marketing Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Know!

      By Thomas R. Reich PhD

       

      1. Let’s start with an old adage: the most important order you ever get from a customer is the second order. Do not forget to market to your customer base as well as new prospects.

      2. With Internet marketing, spend 10 percent of your time or more on testing; make sure your great marketing idea reads through to the customer.Marketing tips

      3. Knowing your competition and adapting to consumer motivation and behavior is not an option. It is an absolute necessity for competitive survival.

      4. A well-designed Pinterest site can hold all your products, videos, testimonials, blogs and inspirational pictures in one place all leading back to your website.

      5. Using a properly designed social media network and a functional business website can replace the old fashioned Yellow Pages.

      6. Marketing tipsBe ever alert of your internet reputation.  Know the power of repetition. Be sure your message is consistent. Employ reputation management.

      7. The two most common mistakes companies make in using the phone is failing to track results and tracking the wrong thing. Involve your CRM and website in all sales calls.

      8. Internet marketing activities should be efficient, consistent and not just sales ads. Build your reputation and trust while fishing for prospects.

      9. It costs five times as much to sell a new customer as an existing customer. Nurture your customer base with consistent updates, newsletters, and offers.

      10. Selling 100 percent of the time in all things marketing can gradually lead to low open rates of your emails, web promotions, and webinars.  Remember, give your customers Marketing tipssomething first; become an information source. Then they are your friend and selling becomes secondary.

      11. You must entice your prospects to enter your website and then be prepared to wow them!  Don’t think that product superiority, technology, innovation, or company size will sell itself.

      12. New prospects are great, but they are not customers until they buy from you.  You must pay attention to your present customer base, in order to build new business; a happy customer base will help you build reputation, trust and new prospects.

      13. Marketing tipsRemember, when you build your social media branches and the information parts of your website, stress how you can improve a situation or problem. People don’t buy products, they buy the benefits and solutions they believe the products provide.

      14. Direct mail campaign can cost $1.25 per piece or more and give less than 1% results.  Putting that same campaign cost into a great social media campaign and email newsletter will reach far more people with far less cost per hit.

      15. The average business never hears from 96 percent of its unsatisfied customers.  Actively look for unsatisfied customers and become a problem solver. 40 percent of unsatisfied customers note no one ever contacted them after the sale.

      16. 50 percent of those customers who complain would do business with the company again if their complaints were handled satisfactorily.  Pay attention to your customer base.

      17. You love to get those testimonials and compliments; we all do. But it is estimated that customers are twice as likely to talk about their bad experiences as their good ones.Marketing tips to make your business shine

      18. Have a talk with your staff, building a good customer base is a gallant cause and will increase business.  However, marketing is everyone’s business, regardless of title or position in the organization.

      19. If your product is a great answer to an accounting concern, don’t claim it will sharpen the pencils too. Exaggerated claims can produce inflated expectations that the product or service cannot live up to, thereby resulting in dissatisfied customers.

      20. Target marketing is the key and will lead to much greater results.  Get to know your prime customer type—the 20 percent of product users who Marketing tipsaccount for 80 percent of the total consumption of that product class.

       

      1. Bonus: Remember that good marketing is bringing your product or service to light with potential customers.  If you over sell in the marketing, sales has nowhere to go.  Marketing’s job is to excite prospects about the virtues of the actual product you sell.

       

       

       

       

      Related Blogs

        Things to get You Noticed! 7 Free Pinterest Tools

        , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

        Pinterest Tools Things to get You Noticed!  7 Free Pinterest Tools

         

        Pinterest is fast becoming one of the biggest social media sites in the world and this means it is important to find its uses to expose your busines. The Pinterest tools contained in Pinterest can let you easily share any photos you find on the almost any website and socialize with anyone in the world through Pinterest. It makes sharing easier, and you can gain exposure with many more people who share your interest.

        Pinterest tools are not just for image-sharing, u can even study your social activity and find out your score on Pinterest, so you’ll know how well your message is getting out, or by using a simple web application, find out how your social activity can potentially benefit you.

        Here you will find 7 useful Pinterest tools you can use with your Pinterest from analyzing your pinterest activity to study your score and influence, pinning quotes, adding additional button as well as activity column on Pinterest page.

        1. Pinpuf

        Pinpuff is a Pinterest tools where you can calculate your Pinfluence, a measure of your popularity on Pinterest and it also provides the value of your every pin. To get started with your analytics on Pinpuff, go to the website Pinterest tools to help make you better exposedhttp://pinpuff.com/  and fill in your email and your Pinterest username, then click on the button ‘Calculate your Pinfluence’.

        You will be redirected to your pinfluence page, where you will find your pinterest analytics.

        In the score page, you will be presented with your total score at the right hand sidebar next to your Pinterest profile image. You will also get to know an estimation of your pin valuation as well as cost per click. Apart from that, you will see your reach score based on your follower and activity score.  It is just for fun but gives you an idea of how you are doing getting attention with your pins!

        There’s also a virility score, and you can also find out the total followers, pins, repins and likes of each board you created in Pinterest.

        Pinterest tools2. Pinreach

        Similar to Pinpuff, Pinreach is a Pinterest tools that also provides you with analytics to study your influence on Pinterest except without the value estimation you can find in Pinpuff. It does however have othe features to offer.

        To use Pinreach, visit the website and click on the ‘Sign Up’ button and fill up the registration form together with your Pinterest username.

         

        When registration is completed, you will be redirected to your analytics page. There are four tabs available on Pinreach to study your Pinterest tools activity in details.

        Analytics

        The first tab ‘Analytics’ is where you will be able to see your total pins, repins, likes, followers and more from the right sidebar, and you will also see graph of your score as well as activity changes since you last login to Pinreach.

         

        Boards

        Boards will show you the total number of pins, repins, followers and comments based on boards you created on Pinterest.

         

        Pins

        The Pins tab will show you a collection of your popular pins on pinterest.

         

        Influential Followers

        This tab will let you know who are among your followers has a strong influence on Pinterest. You can also click on their image to find out their Pinreach.

         

        Pinterest tools 3. Pin A Quote

        Pin A Quote is a set of Pinterest tools that allows you to post a quote to Pinterest. Although this is just a small part of what you can get from Pinstamatic, Pin A Quote makes it easy with their bookmarklet – you can simply post a quote by highlighting a text on any website much like how you Pin an image from a site.

        To grab the bookmarklet, visit the Pin A Quote homepage, drag the button ‘Pin A Quote’ to your browser’s bookmark bar, and it is ready for use.

         

        To pin a quote to Pinterest, all you need to do is simply highlight any sentence or quote you found on any website, then click on the Pin A Quote bookmarklet. A form will appear, fill it up and post it to your Pinterest.

         

        4. Pin Search

        Pin Search is an extension for Chrome browser and is a set of Pinterest tools that will let you easily find more related photos and information of a photo you found on Pinterest.Pinterest tools

        To start using, head over to the Pin Search extension page on your Chrome browser and click ‘Add to Chrome’.

        Once added to Chrome, open the Pinterest website and you will see an additional ‘Search’ button at the bottom of the ‘Comment’ button, when you hover over any images on Pinterest.

        Clicking on this ‘Search’ button will direct you to a Google’s search results page that is related to the image you selected.

        5. Recent Activity Expander

        Also an extension for Chrome, Recent Activity Expander is a set of Pinterest tools that will add an extra column on the left side of your Pinterest page, and list down all recent activity related to your account. It allows you to see who has followed and repinned your items since your last login.

        To start using, head over to Recent Activity Expander‘s Chrome extension page and add it to your Chrome. Once added, open Pinterest website and you will see your Recent Activities in a column on the left.

        Pinterest tools to help make you better exposed6. Pinterest Right-Click

        Pinterest Right-Click is an extension for your Firefox browser, it adds an additional right-click item to your right-click menu so you can pin any photos you found on the Internet.

        To get this Pinterest tool, open the Pinterest Right-Click extension page on your Firefox and install.

        Now when installation is completed, you can search or browse any images from your Firefox, and when you find any photos you want to pin to Pinterest, right-click on the image and select ‘Pin image’.

        When you selected ‘Pin Image’, as usual a popup window will appear for you to fill up the details of the image, which board you want to post the image to etc. Once completed, select ‘Pin it’.

         

        7. Pinterest Pro

        Pinterest Pro is another set of Pinterest tools for Chrome extension that comes with 3 main features to enhance your Pinterest experience: ‘Pin to Pinterest’ accessible by the right-click menu, image zooming and ‘Popular Pin Dropdown’.Pinterest tools to help make you better exposed

        You can have these features on your Chrome browser by installing Pinterest Pro from the extension page. To pin a photo, just select ‘Pin to Pinterest’ by right click. A new tab will appear; fill up with the details of the image and it will be posted on your Pinterest board.

        When you browse a Pinterest page, you can enlarge every pinned image without having to click on that image. Simply hover over any image with your cursor and the image will be enlarged.

        The third feature is the Popular Pin Down button you can find at the top-right corner of your browser. Click this button to check out the latest popular content on Pinterest without having to load the website.

        Conclusion

        Now with these 7 Pinterest tools, you can start to analyze your social activity on Pinterest and do more research on how to reach your audiences or grab more influence that would be beneficial for Marketing your product, service or event.

        Related Blogs

          7 Free Pinterest Tools; Things to get You Noticed!

          , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

          Pinterest tools7 Free Pinterest Tools; Things to get You Noticed!

           

          Pinterest is fast becoming one of the biggest social media sites in the world and this means it is important to find its uses to expose your busines. The Pinterest tools contained in Pinterest can let you easily share any photos you find on the almost any website and socialize with anyone in the world through Pinterest. It makes sharing easier, and you can gain exposure with many more people who share your interest.

          Pinterest is not just for image-sharing, u can even study your social activity and find out your score on Pinterest, so you’ll know how well your message is getting out, or by using a simple web application, find out how your social activity can potentially benefit you.

          Here you will find 7 useful tools you can use with your Pinterest from analyzing your pinterest activity to study your score and influence, pinning quotes, adding additional button as well as activity column on Pinterest page.

          1. PinpufPinterest tools to help make you better exposed

          Pinpuff is a Pinterest tool where you can calculate your Pinfluence, a measure of your popularity on Pinterest and it also provides the value of your every pin. To get started with your analytics on Pinpuff, go to the website http://pinpuff.com/  and fill in your email and your Pinterest username, then click on the button ‘Calculate your Pinfluence’.

          You will be redirected to your pinfluence page, where you will find your pinterest analytics.

          In the score page, you will be presented with your total score at the right hand sidebar next to your Pinterest profile image. You will also get to know an estimation of your pin valuation as well as cost per click. Apart from that, you will see your reach score based on your follower and activity score.  It is just for fun but gives you an idea of how you are doing getting attention with your pins!

          There’s also a virility score, and you can also find out the total followers, pins, repins and likes of each board you created in Pinterest.

          Pinterest tools2. Pinreach

          Similar to Pinpuff, Pinreach is a Pinterest tool that also provides you with analytics to study your influence on Pinterest except without the value estimation you can find in Pinpuff. It does however have othe features to offer.

          To use Pinreach, visit the website and click on the ‘Sign Up’ button and fill up the registration form together with your Pinterest username.

           

          When registration is completed, you will be redirected to your analytics page. There are four tabs available on Pinreach to study your Pinterest activity in details.

          Analytics

          The first tab ‘Analytics’ is where you will be able to see your total pins, repins, likes, followers and more from the right sidebar, and you will also see graph of your score as well as activity changes since you last login to Pinreach.

           

          Boards

          Boards will show you the total number of pins, repins, followers and comments based on boards you created on Pinterest.

           

          Pins

          The Pins tab will show you a collection of your popular pins on pinterest.

           

          Influential Followers

          This tab will let you know who are among your followers has a strong influence on Pinterest. You can also click on their image to find out their Pinreach.

           

          Pinterest tools 3. Pin A Quote

          Pin A Quote is a Pinterest tool that allows you to post a quote to Pinterest. Although this is just a small part of what you can get from Pinstamatic, Pin A Quote makes it easy with their bookmarklet – you can simply post a quote by highlighting a text on any website much like how you Pin an image from a site.

          To grab the bookmarklet, visit the Pin A Quote homepage, drag the button ‘Pin A Quote’ to your browser’s bookmark bar, and it is ready for use.

           

          To pin a quote to Pinterest, all you need to do is simply highlight any sentence or quote you found on any website, then click on the Pin A Quote bookmarklet. A form will appear, fill it up and post it to your Pinterest.

           

          4. Pin Search

          Pin Search is an extension for Chrome browser and is a Pinterest tool that will let you easily find more related photos and information of a photo you found on Pinterest.Pinterest tools

          To start using, head over to the Pin Search extension page on your Chrome browser and click ‘Add to Chrome’.

          Once added to Chrome, open the Pinterest website and you will see an additional ‘Search’ button at the bottom of the ‘Comment’ button, when you hover over any images on Pinterest.

          Clicking on this ‘Search’ button will direct you to a Google’s search results page that is related to the image you selected.

          5. Recent Activity Expander

          Also an extension for Chrome, Recent Activity Expander is a Pinterest tool that will add an extra column on the left side of your Pinterest page, and list down all recent activity related to your account. It allows you to see who has followed and repinned your items since your last login.

          To start using, head over to Recent Activity Expander‘s Chrome extension page and add it to your Chrome. Once added, open Pinterest website and you will see your Recent Activities in a column on the left.

          Pinterest tools to help make you better exposed6. Pinterest Right-Click

          Pinterest Right-Click is an extension for your Firefox browser, it adds an additional right-click item to your right-click menu so you can pin any photos you found on the Internet.

          To get this Pinterest tool, open the Pinterest Right-Click extension page on your Firefox and install.

          Now when installation is completed, you can search or browse any images from your Firefox, and when you find any photos you want to pin to Pinterest, right-click on the image and select ‘Pin image’.

          When you selected ‘Pin Image’, as usual a popup window will appear for you to fill up the details of the image, which board you want to post the image to etc. Once completed, select ‘Pin it’.

           

          7. Pinterest Pro

          Pinterest Pro is another Pinterest tool for Chrome extension that comes with 3 main features to enhance your Pinterest experience: ‘Pin to Pinterest’ accessible by the right-click menu, image zooming and ‘Popular Pin Dropdown’.Pinterest tools to help make you better exposed

          You can have these features on your Chrome browser by installing Pinterest Pro from the extension page. To pin a photo, just select ‘Pin to Pinterest’ by right click. A new tab will appear; fill up with the details of the image and it will be posted on your Pinterest board.

          When you browse a Pinterest page, you can enlarge every pinned image without having to click on that image. Simply hover over any image with your cursor and the image will be enlarged.

          The third feature is the Popular Pin Down button you can find at the top-right corner of your browser. Click this button to check out the latest popular content on Pinterest without having to load the website.

          Conclusion

          Pinterest tools to help make you better exposedNow with these 7 tools, you can start to analyze your social activity on Pinterest and do more research on how to reach your audiences or grab more influence that would be beneficial for Marketing your product, service or event.

          Related Blogs

            How to Make Pinterest Work for You

            , , , , , , , , , ,

            making pinterest workHow to Make Pinterest Work for You

             

            Pinterest is a tool to help connect people with your products and drive them back to your site; it is another tool to draw attention to your product or service.

             

            So why is Pinterest different, why is it getting so much attention? First, the site generates a huge amount of web traffic. Second, it has become a major traffic referral site.  Pinterest matters because a lot of people Making Pinterest work are on Pinterest and a lot of people are using Pinterest.

             

            In increasing numbers, people are making purchasing decisions based on Pinterest.  They search for a product or services, see a visual comparison and then click on the image that interests them. This takes them directly back to the source website of the product or service.

             

            Pinterest gives people a different way to connect with products and services. Google search is one way Pinterest search is becoming another.  Pinterest is a way to have new customers stumble upon products and services in a new way, it’s beautiful, stunning, requires little thought to search effectively and it’s new, a great combination for social media.

             

            Making Pinterest work You can start getting your products and services on Pinterest even if you are not a Pinterest site user.  Your products and services may already be on Pinterest.  Here is a simple trick to find out if they are.  Go to the URL bar at the top of your browser and type http://pinterest.com/source/yourURL.  The results will be all the people who are pinning your products or services.

             

            So, the meat is how to get others to pin your products or services so their followers will see the pins as well as your followers.  Here are some basics to get products and services pinned:

             

            1)     Give people something great to pin.  Make sure you are creating content that people will want to share.  Great product photography and graphics helps and creative displays are the key to visual acceptance.

            a)     Great product photography. Your supplier could be the source of this, but tag it to your website, not theirs.

            b)     Great life/style photography.  Create settings and situations that show your product or service in action.  Also showing your employees in a fun working environment while creating the product or service can send a positive message.Making Pinterest work

            c)      Pin great content.  You can pin video tutorials, infographics and testimonials tied to your products and services, which should link browsers back to your website.

            d)     Great video content.  Create fun videos that relate to your product or service but entertain. Remember to link back to your website.

            2)     Do your research, search for similar products and services, and see what others are pinning and which are the most successful.  What catches your eye? What do you see and say, “I could do better than that,” or “I have a better picture than what they are using?”

            3)     Make it easy for people to pin what you post.  Make it as easy as possible for people to find an image on your website and get it on to Pinterest.  Make sure to include “Pin It” buttons everywhere on your website where you have a lot of images.  This says to a visitor to your site, “if you like these images, feel free to pin them to your Pinterest site.”

            4)     Encourage people to pin your products and services.  Go a step further, offer a 10% discount for Pinterest users that create a board of your products and services.  The traffic generated by a promotion of this mature is potentially mind boggling!  Once a Pinterest user pins your product, it gets repinned and repinned over and over.

            5)     Remember that even if your website is not mobile friendly, Pinterest is, so it gives the mobile community access to your products and services instantly.  The mobile optimization of your content is done for you automatically on the Pinterest site.

            Making Pinterest work 6)     All pins to your Pinterest site can be automatically tweeted to your Twitter fans and posted to your Facebook page by simply clicking a convenient share button on the Pinterest site; adding to its power as part of your social media network.

             

            For a successful Pinterest site, engage with the Pinterest community.  Have boards related to your products or services but not just your products or services.  Even on the boards that specifically promote your products and services, have other items and eye candy that enhances the experience of your products and services.  This will help establish you as an authority in your field, not just a product pusher.  This can help your Pinterest site rank higher in the search results within Pinterest itself and within Google searches.

             

            The best way to make Pinterest work for you is to create great photography, great photographic content, and great videos to create story with pictures.  Put useful captions on all posts, make sure all content is linked to your website and make all Making Pinterest work pictures and graphic content pinnable from your website by installing the “Pin It” button on every page with pinnable content.

             

             

            Remember, like any social media, Pinterest is just a tool; it is a tool to connect people with your products and services and bring them back to your website.  Do not over think this, the better your products and services, the better the chance you will draw traffic back to your website where the selling is done.  Pinterest is not a sales tool; it is part of an overall social media network, that work together to bring traffic to your website.

            Related Blogs

              Want More Visitors? Use Social Media to Drive Visitors Home!

              , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

              Social Media to Drive Visitors HomeWant More Visitors? Use Social Media to Drive Visitors Home!

              By Thomas R. Reich

              Why do Businesses Fail?

              1) Not enough people know they exist, little or no Social Media to Drive Visitors Home ?

              2)   They did not do enough to get the word out

              3)   Did not work hard enough for brand recognition

              4)   Did not remind the customer daily through Social Media to Drive Visitors Home why the business matters

              A successful business must have a daily promotion habit, do at least one of the following each daySocial Media to Drive Visitors Home

              1)   Write or post a new blog

              2)   Tweet a timely question Social Media to Drive Visitors Home

              3)   Do a radio interview

              4)   Do a webcast Social Media to Drive Visitors Home

              5)   Post on LinkedIn

              6)   Write a letter to the editor

              7)   Link and share pictures on Facebook page

              8) Do at least one thing that will publicize your product each day with Social Media to Drive Visitors Home

              Social Media to Drive Visitors HomeOther things to do on a regular basis:

              1)   Contact 5 people a day that could help you publicize your product

              2)   Give the social media network a hook to use to grab their audience (in the end you and your product do not matter to that media outlet, to the organization giving you the publicity, it’s how you can add interest to their show or blog, even their tweet stream, remember this!)

              3)   Research what various factions of the Social Media to Drive Visitors Home can put in their heading or intro;

              “Coming up________” that will help their audience to stay tuned in or check back.  What about you or your product would cause this reaction think of catchy phrases, make it easy to promote you or your product.

              4)   Again, you need to come up with hooks, what makes this Social Media to Drive Visitors Home or interviewer’s audience tune in to his or her show or blog.  If it pushes you or your product at the same time, that makes it a win win, that is what we are looking for!

              5)   Hook = “Could you go to jail for linking the wrong website?” or “have you checked your Facebook picture for malware, XYZ co knows why you should” or “Is your health drink, healthy?”

               

              5 Ways to Create a Hook for the Social Media NetworkSocial Media to Drive Visitors Home

              First: create interest

              1)   How to do; “How do you Tweet a Question?”

              2)   Counter a Myth; “Parents want a quick fix to poor study habits-could drugs be the wrong answer?”

              3)   Make a prediction; “Why the US will soon experience dramatic food shortages” –or—“Why food prices will continue to rise”

              4)   Ask a Question, “Can you give the media a question they can use?” or “What are cats thinking?”

              5)   Give them a timely hook, a reason they need to have information about your product now; Tax advice at tax time, new business start up advice in January, new kind of tomato plant in the spring

               

              Social Media to Drive Visitors HomeCreate an effective publicity plan

              1)   Who is your core audience

              2)   What does that core audience read or watch

              3)   When will your topic be timely; time of year, anniversary, create a holiday around your product, look in the book Chase’s Calendar of Events for listing of 10,000 holidays

              4)   Is there a predictable news event that can be spun to your product and sent to theSocial Media to Drive Visitors Home, release of a movie, elections, release of monthly employment figures or farm reports

               

              Avoid the “I’ll wait till it comes out to publicize the product” approach

              1)   When a new or updated product is released, the publicity must already be in place, The Social Media Network; Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn announcements kicking for weeks before the product hits the street.Social Media to Drive Visitors Home

              2)   Again do interviews blogs and email blasts, and consistent social media network exposure before the release date as well, to create anticipation of the new or improved product.

              3)   Listen to your core interest group, you may find improvements or hooks you never thought of before the product even comes out.

               

               

              You want the influential bloggers

              Get publicity and exposure on blogs that reach your core audience, not just your personal blog. The top 500 bloggers sites have over 100,000 visits per month, this is a resource you need to tap into!

               

              Social Media to Drive Visitors HomeMain ways to get valuable coverage on blogs:

              1)   Offer to write an article, this is called a “guest Post” free.

              2)   Offer the blogger the opportunity to interview you

              3)   Offer the blogger mention or a posting on your blog

              4)   Offer the blogger a free product so they can review it

              5)   Offer to run a free advice column in their blog Social Media to Drive Visitors Home

              6)   Offer copies of your product as prizes

               

              Find blogs that get a lot of traffic

              1)   Give them timely hooks Social Media to Drive Visitors Home

              Social Media to Drive Visitors Home
              Social Media to Drive Visitors Home

              2)   Always get a plug in return for the appearance

              3)   www.technorati.com to find blogs to contact in your field

               

              You Need a YouTube Strategy

              You must have a strategy, YouTube should part of any social media networking plan

              1)   What could your core audience be looking for?

              2)   How can you set up your video so your core audience can find you?

              3)   Video must be no longer than 2 min.

              Social Media to Drive Visitors Home4)   Better to have 40 videos, each 90 second tips than to have 6 videos, each 15 min speeches.

              The YouTube videos should contain:

              1)   Hi I am _____________

              2)   I am important to you because _______________

              3)   Here is what we are doing for you

              4)   End with find me here and follow me on twitter

              5)   Ask for a response from them through your social media network

               

              If this seems like too many questions for you to answer alone, we can help to use Social Media to Drive Visitors Home.   Beyond our normal business serves.  We can help set up your social media network and blog to work with your Website.  We can even help with videos and building a digital image.

              Related Blogs

                The fundamentals of social media engagement; common sense, not tips and tricks.

                , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

                the fundamentals of social media engagementThe fundamentals of social media engagement; common sense, not tips and tricks.

                It’s very convenient for social media marketing firms to make the fundamentals of social media engagement out to be more difficult than they really are. The secret to success is basic, common sense, and the fundamentals of social media engagement follows the same rules that govern real life business networks and relationships.

                I hope this is the simplest and clearest thing you’ve ever heard about the fundamentals of social media engagement for small business. Here it goes:

                In order to successfully market your small business through social media you need to do two things:

                (1) Grow and nurture your online networks

                the fundamentals of social media engagement

                (2) Create and share great content

                Let me say that again.

                In order to successfully market your small business through the fundamentals of social media engagement, you need to do two things:

                (1)        Grow and nurture your online networks

                (2)        Create and share great content

                 

                the fundamental of social media engagementNo secrets. No tips. No tricks. Just common sense.

                Your small business social media marketing efforts start with you – the business owner and executives.

                If you haven’t put the time into the fundamentals of social media engagement, effectively building and nurturing your own, personal, online networks (your human marketing platform), then your social media efforts will likely be an uphill battle. There aren’t any tips or tricks to shortcut the fundamentals of social media engagement and the process it takes to get there. It’s a commitment very much like going to networking events, trade shows and business expos with all of the necessary follow up.

                Your social media success will be determined by your capacity to grow your online networks and strengthening those relationships through the fundamentals of social media engagement. That means commenting, posting, tweeting, sharing, retweeting, liking, plussing, friending, following, connecting…well you get the point. It’s a daily commitment and there is no way around it.

                You need to give your online networks reasons to tell their networks about you and your business.

                Having big networks and great relationships will only take you so far. If you want to get people talking about you online and telling their friends about your business, you must create and share great content.  This is the major part of the the fundamental of social media engagementfundamentals of social media engagement.

                Whether you are sharing great industry related articles, writing killer blog posts, designing stunning infographics, or filming compelling interviews, you need to be creating and sharing something that your online networks will find valuable enough to share with their networks.

                This is what makes social media work.  It’s the truth about what it takes to be successful marketing your small business through the fundamentals of social media engagement. And again, there aren’t any tips, tricks or secrets to give you a shortcut.

                If you want to market your small business successfully through social media, you need to keep your ground game strong. Keep building new relationships, making more contacts and satisfying customers. Use the fundamental of social media engagementthese relationships as the foundation to grow and nurture your online networks. In order to get these folks talking about your business you need to create and share great content that they will want to share with their friends and networks.

                If you are doing this, and following the fundamentals of social media engagement, then maybe you are ready for some social media tips and tricks. Not a moment sooner…

                Related Blogs

                  3 Must Do’s in Your Social Media Network; Making Your Organization Relevant in Social Media

                  , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

                  social media network3 Must Do’s in Your Social Media Network; Making Your Organization Relevant in Social Media

                  By Thomas R. Reich PhD

                   

                  Are you really doing the right things with Social Media to grow your organization?  It might be because you are trying to use the new medium of Social Media like you used the old medium of advertising, mainly to talk to your audience.  To be successful with Social Media you must involve your audience and talk with them, not to them.  I have observed 3 big mistakes our clients made before learning how to be successful in the social Media arena:

                  1)     You forget to have a strategy in how to work with your entire online network.3 rules of social media

                   

                  Having a strategy for Social Media marketing goes a long way, and integrating that plan into an overall internet marketing plan is essential to success in your online marketing.  You may want to include some or all of the following in your plan:

                  a)     The number of times of the day or the week you will update the different Social Media channels.  Some may be each day others may be once a month but make a schedule and stick to it!

                  3 rules of social mediab)     Decide what kind of followers you want in each channel.  Do you want quantity or quality?  There are arguments for each and it depends on your mission, all a function of good planning.

                  c)     It is important to set a realistic goal for the number of respondents to your marketing activities that are converted to your website and then to action, it is important to plan benchmarks to measure results.

                   

                   

                  3 rules of social media2)      Social Media is not just about you, don’t forget about others.

                  If you only promote yourself without giving value back on Twitter and Facebook, you will lose followers fast!  Sites like Twitter and Pinterest where your followers are not your real life friends but thousands of people interested in what you have to say as promised by your intro are looking for additional content.  Facebook and LinkedIn may be more forgiving through your business pages, but not as forgiving as you may think if all you do is advertise and self promote.

                  Limit self-promotional posts to twice per week, and divide the remainder of your content between engaging updates free from links, sharing relevant links your readers will enjoy and (polite and friendly) replies to other users.  By following a structured plan like this, and staying on that plan to a schedule, you may find you have more friends that like you instead of just fans that “Like” you.

                   

                   

                   3)  Possibly the biggest mistake you can make on Social Media is forgetting to update.

                  When you don’t update on a Social Media site it is probably the worst offence of all, it says you don’t care, and amounts to doing absolutely nothing!  Even if you make some of the mistakes above, at least you have a presence, at least you can learn from your mistakes as you go along.  In order to make any progress at all you must stick to the schedule we discussed above.  Whether it’s a daily Tweet, a weekly LinkedIn update or a monthly blog or video update, stay on plan!  You may want to post more and in some cases where the followers are growing very fast, you may want to post hourly, we all want that problem!   A good social media manager can help you decide on a good strategy for the frequency of your updates.

                   

                   

                  Want to learn more?  We have a FREE class for you; first watch this FREE recording of last week’s webinar on Social Media:

                  3 rules of social media

                   

                  Then sign up for and attend this week’s FREE Webinar:

                   

                   

                  3 rules of social media

                  Branding and Graphic Design to Maximize your Social Media Marketing

                   

                  Space is limited.
                  Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
                  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/250152466

                  Join us for a Webinar on October 31
                  Wednesday, October 31, 2012
                  2:00 PM – 3:00 PM online from BizCentralUSA
                  Key Note Speaker: Thomas R. Reich, Marketing Coordinator

                  Join us for a fun and fact filled free webinar; one that will expose you to a world of Graphics and Branding. among other things discussed will be: Logo design and the difference between Logo and Brand! How color can effect your business, how important matching the look and feel of your website to you printed material and social media. We will look deep into the Brand and just what it means! Then we will touch on tips and tricks in many areas of marketing so new even the experts will want to attend. This is a must see for any business interested in increased marketing presents; You will benefit greatly from the knowledge if only to enlighten you on what may be available for your company. As usual this fact filled webinar is FREE.

                  Can you afford to miss a learning opportunity like this? As always this webinar is free!

                  As always, feel free to contact Tom Reich for any marketing related questions at tom@bizcentralusa.com.

                  Please Register for this information – packed Webinar, even if you can not attend at the listed time, we will send all registrants a link to the recorded version of the live event the following day.

                  Your One Stop Shop for all of your Business Needs,
                  BizCentralUSA.com
                  (407) 857-9002

                  All this and more will be answered by resident marketing expert, Thomas R. Reich.

                  This webinar is free and as always, if you register and are unable to make the live webinar we will send a recorded version to you after the event!

                   

                  Title: Branding and Graphic Design
                  Date: Wednesday, October 31, 2012
                  Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

                   

                  After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

                   

                  Space is limited.
                  Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
                  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/250152466

                  Related Blogs

                    What Key elements make an Effective Blog

                    , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

                    effective blogWhat Key elements make an Effective Blog

                    By Thomas R. Reich PhD

                    Short form content in Social Media is great; however, original, thoughtful content is still king. A good company blog is still the perfect platform.

                    Blogs are a great weekly forum to make your case and a fantastic marketing tool within your website. While short-form social media channels are great at building buzz, thoughtful blog content adds real long-term value to your and attracts the discussion to your website to sell your solution. Preformed correctly, blogging gives customers insight into your brand, establishes you as an industry expert and grow to become an information resource in an area of expertise, and in the process, attract traffic from search engines.

                    4 Ways to Improve Your Blog!

                    1. Use Topics that Personalize Your Organization: Have you recently received a great customer referral? Share it with your blog readers, if you don’t talk about it who will?. Has a particular mentor influenced your organization or shaped the way you do business? Profile them in a blog that exemplifies their values and how you have incorporated those values into your organization. Remember referring to a higher source is a great way to lift up your organization without always tooting your own horn! Another way to spotlight your organization without saying me me me is to feature a star employee you want to point out as an industry expert right there in your organization. All of these things personalize your business and help readers relate to you in a way that makes them trust your organization. When it comes down to deciding between similar businesses, potential customers will often go with the company they can relate to. Content, the kind of writing that spotlights the good works your organization, its employees and the people that associates with you attracts not only new interaction but loyalty as well!
                    2. Stay on target, blog about subjects that revolve around your organization: Your blog should stand for the same thing your organization stands for, and you must stay on topic for best results.  An engaged writer makes for an engaged reader, so make sure you’re writing about something that interests you, but a the same time ties it in to your issues, benefits and positions as an organization. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion, but keep that opinion about the expertise and mission of your organization and its employees. Certified Minority? Passion for helping the homeless? Crazy for construction standards for back yard swimming pools? Whatever your organization is involved in, if it’s something that you care about, it will be easy to write about and relate to your business, which is the point of the blog after all.
                    3. Be willing to take tough stands in issues your organization believes in: Writing about what customers want to know about is a sure-fire way to keep them engaged. To do so, you’ve got to be willing to tackle tough topics in your content and commentary. Blogging about difficult issues and controversies within your industry attracts customers, and keeps them coming back to you as a resource.  This does not mean take political stands on issues for politics sake, leave that to the politicians.  If you take a stand based purlly on politics you will surly turn off ½ your audience.  If, on the other hand, you angle the same issue towards your organization without invoking politics, you have 100% of the readers as potential believers!
                    4. Be well read on all the trends in your industry: Blogging provides an excellent vehicle for discussing news trends that may not directly relate to your business, while engaging with potential customers about a topic that has piqued their interest. Keep abreast of the latest breaking news and figure out creative ways to engage readers. Ask questions to encourage readers to leave comments. By positioning your brand as a thought leader, you build trust with customers, which will count when the time comes to make a purchasing decision or take the actions you are encouraging.

                    Remember, Social Media is Marketing Promotion to get people to take action and get to your blog on a particular issue or event.  Once on your blog, the job of the blog is to interest the reader in the issues and products surrounding your organization, and to continue on to your website for more information about those issues and their solutions.  That is also a marketing function, but when you are successful and the reader does click onto your website, they should be in your closing room.  Social Media and Blogs are Marketing, Websites are sales floors, your website is and should be your office, but that’s another discussion.  Above all, keep it simple. Your company blog shouldn’t read like a promotional brochure. Readers are looking for concise writing with clear takeaways, along with some fun and personality. Keep it brief, make your point using relatable examples, and then post it.

                     

                     

                     

                     

                    Free Pinterest accountCapacity Building: Taking Your Organization to the Next Level

                     

                     

                     

                    Wednesday, October 24, 2012
                    2:00 pm – 3:00 pm online from CharityNetUSA
                    Key Note Speaker: Howard Walker

                    Nonprofit Fundraising Expert Howard Walker is back for this vital topic, Fundraising.  Howard will bring real world examples of successful fundraising efforts, and set you on course for some great fundraising events.  We will cover volunteer programs, managing the fundraising efforts, and the necessity of keeping proper control and security of funds and your good name.  Fundraising can bring in more than just funds; it can gather new volunteers, donors and spread the word of your cause.  All it takes is the knowledge and desire to succeed; we give you the knowledge FREE in this information packed webinar!

                    As the past shows: the economy will recover, resources will catch up with us and finances will level out.  Don’t wait for recovery to happen, get started growing your nonprofit now.  When America recovers, your nonprofit will not only be in the game, but you will be an MVP!

                    Contact Marketing Coordinator Thomas R. Reich for more info at tom@Bizcentralusa.com or call him at (407) 857-9002 ex 510

                    Register Now!

                    Your Friends in the Struggle,
                    CharityNetUSA
                     

                    Related Blogs

                      Load More