It is Summer and the kids are …

… not working as much as they have in years past.  Teen employment rates are the lowest this year than in 50 years.  Here is a great article from Fluidity with some insight:

School is out for the summer. Young people are looking for temporary work. Unemployment still hovers around 9% despite rosy predictions. Despite claims the economy is improving, it remains sluggish at best. Many businesses are contracting. So what gives?

What is often overlooked in evaluating the American economy is the consumer perspective. As the country came through the depression over the past three-plus years, the average consumer has had to scale back in many areas. With gas prices playing with $4 per gallon, many families have cut back on travel plans and vacations. That has an impact on hotels, resorts, restaurants, attractions, gas stations, and any other business affiliated with the hospitality industry. As a result, those businesses have gone to discounts or special two-for-one offers to lure guests. They may have cut back on staff or reduced amenities to keep the lights on. That impacts everyone. Dollar stores and discount retailers have seen increased volume because of the economic downturn. Higher end retailers are struggling with inventory issues and over staffing concerns. Advertising has been cut back, which has an impact on media outlets, printers, photographers, graphic artists, and sales representatives. Grocery stores have had to raise prices because of higher transportation costs which, in turn, forces consumers to be more frugal in their buying habits. They use coupons or a generic brand instead of a name brand, which means heads roll higher up the corporate ladder. The picture may appear gloomy, but the reality is this is a great time for business owners to evaluate where they are, review their business plan, and make the adjustments that must be made to survive. The alternative is to begin shut down procedures, look for an acquisition or merger partner, or try to sell for the maximum value possible. That option will take time. If the business needs to put a plan together, now is the best time to start the process, even if there has never been a plan in place before. Positive changes in the American business environment must come through the planning process. It takes time and the willingness to be honest, plus the ability and professional help to think things through. The answers may not be pretty, but they can lead to profitability.

(Cheryl’s note, the 9% is national number, the Green Bay MSA Summer 2011 report, our numbers are lower

Expectations & Accountability

Executive Insight from Fluidity

A great article from Dave Rovinski at Fluidity!

One of the challenges facing business owners and corporate executives in this economic environment is making sure the team is clear on expectations and that people are held accountable. When the business plan clarifies the mission of the company and key success factors are identified, management has the tools to achieve both.

Workers perform most effectively when they know what is expected of them. That includes knowing what the level of performance is and what the deadlines are that need to be met. While the expectations should be realistic, it is acceptable to make them a stretch for an employee. They may need more training or require a few extra meetings with supervisors, but the expectations become the benchmarks for getting the work done. Where the accountability factor comes in is making sure that management holds itself accountable to provide the work force with the right tools and training to accomplish the objectives. The owner needs to constantly probe to make sure what needs to be achieved is clear to the people in the trenches getting the job done. It is unfair to put the responsibility for a project on an employee with no experience in that role. Running a business successfully requires a solid plan, clear expectations, and everyone being accountable for their actions. Nothing should be left to chance.

Short cautionary tale …

A “don’t let this happen to you” story from Frank Kenny

Small Business Social Media Case. Business Page versus Personal Profile.

Be careful that this doesn’t happen to you.

A business came to me with this issue. The employee they hired to do the business’ social media and Internet marketing created the business’ Facebook page as a personal profile, not as a business page. Then, when that personal profile had enough “friends”, he named the profile with the business’ name.

The employee has since left the business but refuses to delete the profile and release the URL.

What a hassle for the business. You can’t have duplicate URLs so the business has a problem.

This is what the business should have done from the start.

• Have a signed policy in place stating that social media accounts created for the business remain the businesses if and when the employee departs. Those friends, followers, and fans are valuable and belong to the business. The employees can build their own FFF but not take the business’.

• The company should have adhered to Facebook’s term of service. Never create a business page as a personal profile. I am seeing this all the time still. Don’t do it.

• Once the business page is created, add a second administrator so that the business can quickly transfer the control to another employee.

What do you think the business should do at this point? The ex-employee refuses to delete the profile or release the URL.

Grow your Life and Business Through Social Media

I love guest articles!   Today’s is from Frank Kenny

How can you use social media to grow?

It begins by helping others.  Help others to be successful and you will be successful.

Set a goal of helping 10 others each and everyday. Here are some ways to do this:

• Go to LinkedIn and write a recommendation for a deserving colleague.

• Share a friend’s post on Facebook with your friends.

• Retweet a post on Twitter to your followers.

• Wish someone a happy birthday on Facebook.

• Click the “like” button on Facebook on posts you enjoy. Do this several times.

• Read someone’s blog post and share it. AddThis works great.

• Comment on a picture or video someone uploaded to Facebook.

• Reach out to a friend through Facebook’s email and thank them for their help and support.

• Write an email to a colleague or fellow chamber member just to say hi.

• Checkin at a deli or restaurant. That is a gift of your endorsement. Social proofing.

I know these sound simple. They are.

And it doesn’t take much time once you make it a habit.

Guess what happens? You plant seeds with each and every one. Over time, the crops come in.

Give to get.

Once you have planted seeds and dozens or hundreds of folks know, like, and trust you, you will be amazed at how they go out of their way to help you.

The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. – Proverbs

What else should folks do as a way of giving gifts?

Thinking of opening a business?

First, congratulations!!

Second, welcome to the wild and wooly world of entrepreneurship.  As someone who has been there, I know how exhilarating and, honestly, downright frightening.  I hope you will read back through the archives here at Chamber Notes and continue to come back because small business is near and dear to my heart so I’m always on the hunt for good (or sometimes, just “interesting”) information to pass on to you.

Today is a guest article from our friends at Hawkins, Ash, Baptie & Co. on the critically important area of taxes and the self-employed.

Tax Aspects of Becoming Self-employed

Individual taxpayers are opting to start their own businesses for myriad reasons. Regardless of why you’re contemplating self-employment, you should consider several basic tax-related issues before and immediately after actually leaving your current job. Following are some tax issues to consider.

Know the Rules for Rolling over Retirement Plan Funds. Upon leaving your job, you generally will be entitled to immediately receive vested amounts in your qualified retirement plan accounts. Most distributions from qualified retirement programs [pension plan, 401(k) plan, etc.] can be rolled over tax-free into an IRA account. However, you must arrange for a “direct rollover,” or the plan administrator is required to withhold 20% of your distribution for federal income tax. Direct rollovers involve having the funds transferred directly from your former employer’s retirement plan into your designated IRA account. Failure to arrange a direct rollover means you will have to replace the 20% withheld to accomplish a totally tax-free rollover.

Use All Your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Funds before You Quit. If you have an FSA (or cafeteria plan reimbursement account) for uninsured medical expenses and/or childcare expenses, make sure you incur sufficient qualifying expenses to use up the funds in your account before you leave your job. Otherwise, that money will be left behind.

Open a Separate Business Bank Account. Segregate your business and personal financial matters by keeping separate bank accounts. Deposit all business income into the business account and pay all business expenses out of that account. If you pay business expenses in cash or out of your personal account, reimburse yourself with checks drawn on your business account and document this with receipts. This will make your year-end recordkeeping easier. Keeping separate accounts shows you are serious about running things in a businesslike manner, and IRS examiners like to see that.
Keep Tax Records. In addition to maintaining a separate business bank account, you need to keep documentation of your business income and expenses.

Keep Good Auto Records. Personal auto expenses used for business are deductible, but only if you document the date, number of miles, and business purpose for each business use of the car. Mileage not properly substantiated is considered personal use, and the related expenses are not deductible. You should also record the car’s mileage at the beginning of the year or when you first start your business. Unless the standard mileage rate is used, receipts or invoices and cancelled checks should be retained documenting the car’s purchase price, fuel costs, repairs, taxes, insurance, and other out-of-pocket costs. Auto logbooks for recording mileage and expenses are available at local discount and office product stores.

Set up Your Own Retirement Plan. If you work for yourself, you are on your own when it comes to retirement planning. A retirement plan set up for your benefit accomplishes two goals: it is a way to save money for your later years, and it saves taxes now. Using a defined contribution Keogh plan, you can contribute and deduct up to 25% of your net self-employment (SE) income (maybe more if you set up a defined benefit Keogh plan), but Keogh plans must be in existence before the end of this year for you to take a deduction. If it is a 401(k) plan, you may also make elective deferrals. A simplified employee pension (SEP) plan can be set up in the following year-as late as the extended due date for your return-and still provide a current-year tax deduction. SEPs are simpler and cheaper to administer, and you can contribute and deduct up to approximately 20% of your net SE income. SIMPLE retirement plans are another option available to self-employed persons. A possible disadvantage of these qualified retirement plans is that you may have to make contributions for your employees.

Customer Service – How Healthy is Yours?

We all know the truth.  It ALL comes down to relationship:  in business, in personal life, in community.  Some relationships are good, some are bad, some are downright toxic!  With your customers the relationship is called “customer service” and if this relationship between yourself, your staff and your customers isn’t healthy, vibrant and thriving, your business is either currently in, or will shortly be, in tough shape.

Before I get to today’s guest article and present Barbara’s 8 tips for healthy customer service, I’m going to give you a big one from me.

Right now, everyone wants *the reason* for business difficulty to be the default of “the economy” or “these economic times.”  I won’t sugar coat it for you. B.S.  Just B.S.  It is up to each business to find a reason, make a reason and then keep enforcing it, for customers to come in and come back.  Is your product or service valued as a “nice thing to have” or essential & valuable to your customer?  Is your business warm and inviting?  Are you and your staff friendly and positive?

The old adage still holds true for all business, when things are good they are “great!” And when they aren’t, they are “unbelievable!” (said with a big, genuine smile).  If you or your staff are talking within earshot of any customer or potential customer about how “bad things are,” you should just close your doors TODAY and be done with it.  If there was ever a self-fulfilling prophecy, it is “talk bad, get bad.”  Let me ask you, will you buy something for a business that may or may not be open in a month unless you are shopping a going out of business sale?  Your customers won’t either.

You may be thinking, “But, Cheryl! You are asking me to lie!”  Well, in this case, I’m telling you to fake it ’til you make it.    Just don’t talk about it!  Talk about positive things.  If you can’t find any, call me!  I’ll give you a whole handful of them!!

Thus ends today’s tough love segment of our program!  Now onto Barbara!  I love Barbara Wold’s retail tips.  They are smart, savvy and common sense.  Exactly what most of us need.

Eight Top Tactics for Healthy Customer Service

1. Hire the Best People You Can Find
The life blood of any service operation is the front line staff, the ones who have more contact with customers than anyone else.

2. Develop a Success Culture
The culture of a customer service organization is critically important. One or two bad apples can, and will, if not removed, ruin the barrel.

3. Look for the Real Source of Initial Customer Contacts
Most customers don’t contact your organization because of a customer service issue — at least not initially anyway. Look for what has caused the contact.

4. Look After and Empower Your Front-line People
Make sure your front-line people have the systems, information and processes they need to satisfy their customers during the first contact.

5. Be Proactive
If you have an on-going customer issue, never wait for them to contact you to check what has happened about their problem.

6. Focus on First Contact Fix
Focus on tracking, analyzing and removing the drivers of repeat contacts. Never fall into the trap of driving down contact resolution times to the extent that it risks not satisfying all of the customers’ questions or concerns.

7. Treat Complaints as a Blessing
Complaints are a gift — cherish them. Every complaint is an opportunity to make things right, review and improve your processes, and impress your customer. It’s the customers who don’t complain that go to a competitor — so make it easy to complain and put your best people at your complaint desk.

8. Coach, Coach and Coach Again
Training and then frequent coaching and feedback are a key factor in supporting customer service advisors to quickly achieve competence, and to build upon that to become role models for other staff.

Copyright 2011. Reprinted with permission from Barbara Wold’s Retail & Consumer Tips, bwold@ix.netcom.com.

Social Media Marketing – 3 key points

Since it is Saturday, this will be short. To wrap up this week of posts on social media marketing today’s guest article by Frank Kenny is:

Sites come and go but human nature remains.

What I have found from training and interacting with more than 200 chambers and countless entrepreneurs, is that success in social media marketing really isn’t about the sites but about mindset.

What I mean is that no matter if we are talking about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any of the other sites or tools, it really comes down to:

• Caring about other people. It is about them, not you. Yes, you can share your exciting news. But mostly, it is about getting excited at your customers or prospects news and trying to help them be more successful. There is so much we can do for people if we have a Give Gifts. Be Generous. mindset.

• Building relationships. It is much better to be consistent on one or two sites, or platforms, rather than inconsistent on many. If you are at your best and most loving on Facebook, then interact with your target market on Facebook and build relationships there. Some people will tell you to use whatever site your prospects are on. I disagree. Use the site where you shine as a person and search out your target market there.

• Provide tremendous value. People want to have their worries relieved and their hopes and dreams fulfilled. If you want people to be your customer, provide them value first. Through blog posts, reports, white papers, video, audio, what have you, give away everything you know about your field. Pour it out on them. The key here is that some of what you know is exchanged for their permission to email them with more value and an offer from time to time. Once people are convinced that you know your stuff and have their best interests at heart, they will almost demand to be your customer if you can help them relieve their worries or fulfill a want/need. It takes time to build that confidence and comfort level.

What do you think? Is it the site or the way you approach it?

And from me, the last word on the week. This week I tried something new:  one topic for the whole week and the vast majority of the meat garnered by guest experts.  What do you think of this idea?  Should I do this again with another over-arching them or should I go back to my giving you whatever shiny passes in front of me?

Hope your weekend is wonderful!!

Four what!?? 7 Reasons Why Small Businesses Should Take a Look at Foursquare

I’m going to be brutally honest and admit I’ve really struggled with Foursquare.  A few days ago when blogging about Twitter, I shared the reason we’ve used the Chamber logo instead of my photo at Twitter is because I don’t want it to be about me.  Foursquare, to me, was the ultimate in “all about me.”

If you don’t know what Foursquare is, I’ll give you my thumbnail description:  Foursquare is a self-identified personal “where are you now” service.  Kind of like “Where’s Waldo” without the red striped shirt.  You check-in where you are, Foursquare tells everyone and, well, stuff happens.

If I didn’t get Twitter at first, I *really* didn’t get Foursquare.  Honestly, if people don’t care that I’m getting coffee, then they definitely don’t care I’m getting it at Luna Cafe! Plus, I love my Blackberry and have no immediate desire to get an iPhone (though I love my MacBook Pro and seriously covet an iPad2!) and with Blackberry you have to proactively login to Foursquare and check-in each time you go somewhere.  Typically, I have seventeen things going on in my head at the same time (remember the shiny I mentioned yesterday about blogging?) and having to *remind* myself to tell the world I’m at the grocery store is JUST not a priority.

BUT!  BUT! As I keep saying, it isn’t all about me and there are some really good reasons to use Foursquare, both personally and for business.  Today’s guest article explains it FAR better than I can!  The article comes from ducttapemarketing.com another hidden gem of  site I found via Google.  (No!  I don’t own stock … don’t I wish I’d be that smart!?)

From John Jantsch:

In an end of the year prediction post I wrote for OPEN Forum, I listed location aware social media tools as something that would get big time attention in 2010. (See: 5 Trends that Will Shape Small Business in 2010)

The idea behind location awareness is that people will use the GPS capabilities in today’s mobile devices to check-in, tweet, review, and refer and add their location while doing so. Today I would like to talk about what I think is one of the first location aware services that is already beginning to impact small business.

The service is called Foursquare and while it’s receiving lots of hype from the bleeding edge social media types as the next Twitter, it may be totally foreign, or at least nonsensical, to many small business owners. While I want to use this post to introduce you to Foursquare, keep in mind that my primary point of view is that of the small business marketer and what I believe Foursquare has to offer, and not really the Foursquare user per se.

Having said that I do first feel the need to give you an overview of Foursquare.

The big picture

Foursquare is a location enabled service that allows users to “check in” when then stop at a bar, restaurant, park, bookstore or really anywhere they want to list. The service further allows users to connect with friends and alert them of your location if you choose. There are other services that have tackled this basic function, such as Loopt, Brightkite, Gowalla, and even Google Latitude, but Foursquare also turned this activity into a game: a point that I believe led to its current role as a leader in this evolving space. (I’m also keeping an eye on Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s location play in private beta called Square)

Foursquare is self-described as – “Think: 50% friend-finder, 30% social cityguide, 20% nightlife game.”

Users compete with check-ins to earn points for their city, badges for various types of activity and to become mayor of frequented spots. Just like Twitter back in early 2007 none of this makes much sense until you play with it a while and until you have some folks to follow and connect with. (In fact, it doesn’t really make that much sense then, but there’s something sort of addictive about it.)

Users also add and update information about businesses, write tips and make suggestions for anyone to consume. This rating and reviewing function treads on the turf of services such as Yelp! and acts as another data point for people trying to locate a good pizza on the Upper East Side for example.

Foursquare is set-up around cities and enhances the kind of neighborhood, hyper-local, branding and community building that is so important to local type small businesses. The service is currently available in a growing list of cities and is driven by iPhone, Android and Blackberry apps. Check out the Foursquare help page for some more detail.

OK and now on the real reason I’m writing today. I’m not ready to suggest that every business rush to Foursquare as the next red hot thing, not yet anyway, but I do want to point our a handful of reasons that many small business should start paying attention to this growing force, even if you don’t get it.

Below are seven reasons why I think Foursquare may hold promise for small business

1) Hyper local, tech savvy, evangelists – Foursquare user are people that really love their neighborhoods, getting out and evangelizing the businesses they love. This tech savvy, early adopter is exactly the kind of consumer business should kill for as they often influence large circles. Embracing Foursquare and giving these tech leaders the tools to promote your business is just plain smart business.

2) Online offline – I’ve been writing a lot about this lately, but Foursquare is yet another way for local business to use the efficient online tools to drive more in-person, offline activity. People are physically checking in to your business and talking about online in what can turn into a tremendously effective one-two punch.

3) Make offers – On a recent trip to Chicago I checked into my Marriott on Foursquare and immediately received notice that three nearby businesses had a special offer for me. Currently Foursquare allows just about any business to use their platform to offer deals and promotions to users. You can visit the Foursquare business page to get your business signed up. It’s free for now, but I’m guessing this is big revenue piece for them in the future.

4) Track and reward – Foursquare’s gaming functionality allows businesses to create special promotions for mayors and badge earners and in effect setting up a competition among their most loyal fans. The image below comes from a special promotion hosted by blynk organic, a restaurant in North Carolina. By creating and communicating Foursquare’s tools and platform you can begin to educate customers and create Foursquare advocates for your business. Some bars and restaurants routinely promote free offers for mayors.

5) The power of making it a game – One of the most intriguing aspects of Foursquare is the game. It’s amazing what some folks will do in order to win a game, come in first or, in this case, be the mayor of a popular spot. Gaming and entertainment are huge money winners (video games rival the movie industry in sales) and any small business that can find ways to add gaming elements tied to patronizing a business may just find a real competitive edge.

6) Automated CRM data – So many small businesses have little of no way to track customer behavior. A coffee shop may have a patron that comes in daily for years, but they have no way to track anything other than a face and friendly smile. Every business should find ways to capture everything they can about a customer. Obviously email is a great tool and can be very effective for follow up marketing. Foursquare usage however goes far beyond that. Foursquare can provide business owners with check-in stats for users. What this means is that the customer that comes in every day can now be tracked and even incentivized to get a free cup of coffee for every tenth check-in. It’s like the digital/social version of the loyalty card. Please tell me you see this as huge potential.

7) Sync with Twitter and Facebook - Like all good social media platforms Foursquare understood the need to integrate with platforms that others already use. Foursquare users have the option to tweet or add a Facebook status update every time they check-in. What this means is that a Facebook user with a few hundred friends might expose your business by way of a Foursquare check-in to thousands of Facebook walls. While many of those folks on Twitter or Facebook may not be in your part of town, I’m thinking it’s still a pretty good thing for the brand.

While I’ll caution again that Foursquare might not be the highest priority for many businesses, it’s something that is coming and will be put to use by businesses outside of the retail and entertainment world (I can already imaging how real estate agents could use this.) Businesses that get how to use, stimulate adoption and promote Foursquare now could hold a significant advantage when and if Foursquare becomes the next Twitter.

A word from your sponsor… okay, it’s just Cheryl again!  Changing voice when writing and everyone is in the first person is tricky!!  I am VERY sporadic with Foursquare and really only use it well when I’m on vacation, probably because my “to do” list in my head is much quieter then.  I do have some other reservations rooted in privacy and personal safety, but, I’d say be smart, be judicious .. but check it out. You may love it personally, there are deals out there to be found and if you are a retail, bar/restaurant or other consumer based business that needs word-of-mouth and foot traffic; you *really* should check out Foursquare!

The last post for this week of social media tomorrow will be on overall social media marketing essentials & strategies.  See you tomorrow!

Blogs Are Dead/Long Live the Business Blog!

Yes, I do know if you are reading this, you know about blogs because this is, well, a blog!  But, do you read blogs or do you blog?  If you blog, do you do it as well as you can/should (I don’t! )  I’ve been thinking a lot about this topic lately since my blogging has been embarrassingly haphazard for a while now.  I’m going to get better.  I am!  I’m scheduling time each week to blog and get then stay consistent.  Admittedly, I get distracted by the shiny, but I’m constantly working to improve on my tendency to do so.  My plan is to be here for you!

So, today… blogging and another guest article with lots of links (love links!) on blogging.  One quick note: I adore guest articles.  First of all, I get bored listening to my own voice.  Second, I’m just not that brilliant.  If I learned nothing from Ronald Reagan, I learned you don’t have to be a genius yourself; you just need to surround yourself in them!

Today’s post of from Smallbiztrends.com, yet another gem I found via Google.  I <3 Google!

You will hear from time to time that blogs are dead, but the fact is that business blogs remain very important. Blogs can be the center of your online presence, creating content to be shared via social media from Facebook to Twitter. They can include video and other media and improve your site’s SEO. Here’s more about the small business blog and its benefits.

How To

How to market your business blog. Niall Devitt, co-founder of the small business community Bloggertone, talks about the future of blogs and how social media, the new kid on the block, can be used to enhance rather than replace your blog presence. In this interview, Niall talks about blogging as a division of the social media revolution and about its value, a long with other tools, in creating brand visibility. BizSugar

Tools

Newest tools in business blogging. Business bloggers will soon have even more tools from which to choose. WebsiteBusiness.com has just announced launch of a new version of its AtomWord business blogging platform to be introduced in July. This new version will include enhanced new features but will be offered in a free version unlike an earlier subscription iteration. Customers will be able to pay for addition features like design and support. PRWeb

Trends

Everybody’s got a list of best bloggers. No better example exists of the business blog’s vitality than that every blogger you run into online has their list of the best of the best. While many lists might have some bloggers in common, you certainly discover how many blogs there are out there either being run as businesses or to promote a business. Here’s a new bunch from Antonio Coleman. Which bloggers would you include? TrafficColeman.com

Tips and lessons learned. Entrepreneur turned blogger Paul Downs talks about his 13 months and 60 posts and what they have taught him. Some business bloggers begin their efforts in order to publicize their business ventures, to network or to build a following. For others, blogging truly is the business. What have you learned from your business blogging adventures? You’re the Boss

Business writing and business journalism. Of course, small businesses aren’t alone in recognizing the value of blogging for business. An ongoing stream of more traditional news organizations, including Forbes, are increasingly seeing blogging as the easiest way of distributing business content and resources. These blogs too will continue to be great resources for any entrepreneur. CNBC

Opinion

Rumors of my death… All this latest talk of business blogging’s demise seems to have originated with none other than the New York Times which, in February, tried to put the final nail in the coffin. But, hold on there, say B2B leaders. The reality on the ground is quite a bit different. Want to see how much blogging is still a part of small business strategy? Read on. B to B

Advice

In a nutshell. If you want to know why blogging is still relevant and what it can do for your small business, probably no better or simpler explanation exists than this one from small business journalist Linsey Graham. If you want to sell blogging to your boss or the owner of the small business you manage, or if, as an entrepreneur, you need more assurance of its relevance, look no further. Small Business News Center

Dispelling the doubts and fears. There are probably lots of reasons your business may have decided to this point not to get involved with blogging, or, once you got started, not to stick it out and keep your business blog alive. Here are some thoughts that have probably already occurred to your team about why blogging is an impractical choice for you…and some reasons you may be wrong! Business 2 Community

Success Stories

Blog as small business. Though one definite use for blogs is as an enhancement or marketing tool for your existing business, the fact is, as we’ve said before, that blogs themselves can be businesses too. One example is Bag Snob, the handbag review blog started by Tina Craig and Kelly Cook that now generates a six figure revenue stream with little investment except Craig’s and Cook’s brutally honest product reviews. Profits come from affiliate marketing, sponsorships and other related revenue. The Business of Fashion

Why small businesses still benefit the most. When it comes to investment in online marketing including blogging, social media and SEO, small businesses are still taking the lead while larger firms use more traditional marketing strategies. Also, while social media sites seem to have niches with some more helpful to B2B companies and others more helpful to B2C, blogs seem to work effectively with all business models. How do you use your business blog?

Hello all.. it is Cheryl, your cruise director here… tomorrow brings us to Friday (yeah!!) and just in time to celebrate some free time and going out to fun places, our topic will be Foursquare.  <— link to me on Foursquare!

Ten Ways for Small Businesses to Use LinkedIn

For our Wednesday edition of using social media, today is LinkedIn.  If you think LinkedIn is only for those who are looking for a new job, you need to keep reading.  If you think you start new LinkedIn profiles with each new job, let me just say, it is NOT a 401k!  It is yours, take it with you, but MAKE it about your business, whether you are the owner or not!

This was a guest article at LinkedIN’s blog in April of 2010, but is still among the best I’ve read!

Ed. note: This is a guest post from Guy Kawasaki, co-founder at AllTop, syndicated from his web column on American Express’ OPEN Forum blog. Feel free to leave a comment, share a favorite small business tip or ask Guy a question in the comments section.

When I first blogged about ten ways to use LinkedIn, the site had 8.5 million total users worldwide. I’m told that now there are over twelve million small-business people on LinkedIn, which is roughly 20 percent of its total user base.

Many of these small-business people are using the site in ways you’d commonly imagine: finding leads, growing their business globally, or finding the right vendors. My buddies at LinkedIn recently provided me a list of ten additional ways small businesses can use LinkedIn:

• Acquire new customers through online recommendations and word of mouth. Satisfied customers are the best source of new customers. Increase your word of mouth referrals by asking your happy clients to write you a recommendation, which will be published on your LinkedIn profile and will be broadcast to their entire LinkedIn network.

• Keep in touch with people who care most about your business. Sites like LinkedIn help keep your business alive in the minds of the people who care most about your business. LinkedIn is effective for two reasons: the business intent of LinkedIn users and fewer status updates, which mean you stay on top of mind. Tip: You can also increase the impact of your status updates by syncing your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.

• Find the right vendors to outsource services you’re not an expert on. Think of the number of times you’ve asked your colleagues if they knew of a great web designer or photographer. LinkedIn makes it easy for you to find and vet vendors through the network of your peers. Additionally, you can also trade services with your vendor connections on LinkedIn; sort of a mutual referral system.

• Build your industry network—online and in person. Search LinkedIn’s Groups directory to find industry associations and networks to take part in. For example, if you’re in the event planning or wedding industry, there are over 530 groups. In addition, LinkedIn also surfaces popular events in your industry calling out local events that your connections are attending. Imagine being able to find only industry events that your prospective clients are attending.

• Get answers to tough business questions with a little help from your real friends. Small business owners deal with challenging questions on a slew of topics each day. LinkedIn Answers and Groups let you find answers to those vexing questions quickly by tapping into the wisdom of your network (LinkedIn tells me there are over 200 different categories on Answers including one dedicated just to small business and over 2000 groups on small business related topics). Wondering whether your recent office purchase is tax deductible? Check out hundreds of questions on related topics here.

• Win new business by answering questions in your area of expertise. Use the many forums on LinkedIn to share the knowledge you’ve gained in your area of expertise. This is a great opportunity to win new business or at least find prospective clients to pitch your business to. Prospective customers will find your answers when they use LinkedIn’s advanced Answers search. And don’t forget, what goes around comes around. Don’t forget, this is a great way to soft pitch your skills and expertise.

• Raise funding. You can use LinkedIn to find mentors or potential investors for your startup because there are over three million startup professionals and over 12M small business professionals on LinkedIn and it’s always good to stay in touch with folks who’ve been there, done that and willing to mentor you. Once you’re connected, your participation on LinkedIn (answers, status updates or group conversations) may even cause them to consider investing in your small business.

• Network with peers in your industry for repeat business referrals. LinkedIn Groups is a powerful medium to find peers in your respective industries to network with and to find complimentary businesses to share referrals with. For example, mortgage brokers can find real estate agents to partner with on relevant groups and as most small businesses know, these partners are your best source of referrals that can turn into repeat business. With over 2000 groups dedicated to small business topics, you’re sure to find a relevant group to network.

• Convince potential customers of your expertise by sharing unique blog content. Small businesses smart enough to create unique content on their expertise (either with a blog or twitter account) should link to it from their LinkedIn profiles. Or take it one step further by promoting featured blog content to LinkedIn members on the site (for e.g. with small text ads). You can specify exactly who will see your ads—Executives or VPs—and include a link to your profile so they know who’s behind this content.

• Keep your friends close and your competition closer. Over 150,000 companies have a company profile on LinkedIn, the “public profile” for companies. These pages surface key stats on companies; recent hires as well movers and shakers. Not only do company profiles give you unique insight into your competition, they also give you an opportunity to stumble upon potential hires by browsing through company pages.

I hope this helps you take LinkedIn beyond the usual uses and makes your small business even more successful.

This your captain speaking! LinkedIn is a powerful tool and the tips above are wonderful.  The key is to use it, complete each and every part of your profile, make sure you update your profile at LEAST annually if not twice a year (yes, I’m due to update mine!), and share not only information but of yourself.  Offer recommendations, ask & answer questions, respond to requests, get active in the groups you join.

I veer away from the standard LinkedIn rule in one relatively significant way.  I don’t just accept friend requests from people I know.    LinkedIN for me is not just about connecting with my network and sharing information about the Chamber but about networking.  If I only network with people I already know, that really isn’t networking … that is called relationships!

Tomorrow in our social media week – blogging!