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Social Media

As this year begins to wrap up and businesses start preparing big plans for 2011, we expect social media and technology innovations to be a bigger part of small business digital budgets. To spark a bit of creativity and help get that process rolling, we’ve gathered 35 of our most useful small business posts from the past few months to make sure businesses are in the digital know.

Each week we put together a roundup of essential social media resources that you may have missed that week — you can check those out here. But this week we decided to take it a step further and provide you with another megalist of just our top small business resources from the past few months, including social media, tech, marketing & advertising, dev & design and mobile articles written especially for our small business crowd.

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• 5 Big Social Media Questions From Small Business Owners
  From group buying and location-based marketing to SEO and blogging, here are five fresh questions that small business owners have on their minds.
• How SMBs Can Start Using Facebook Places Now
  Here are a few pointers for how SMBs can leverage Facebook Places and other marketing tools starting today.
• Should You Search Social Media Sites for Job Candidate Information?
  Here are some pointers from recruiting and legal experts about when it is and is not appropriate to search social sites for job candidates.
• 5 New Ways Small Business Can Offer Location-Based Deals
  Small businesses can leverage verified checkins, barcode scanning, group buying initiatives, activity-based rewards, and opt-in lists for location-based deals.
• HOW TO: Respond When Social Media Attacks Your Brand
  Here are three examples of companies that received negative attention on social media and how you can learn from their mistakes or successes.
• 12 Clever Social Media-Friendly Business Cards
  While virtual business cards are becoming a viable alternative to paper cards, there is still a huge demand for traditional business cards. Here are 12 biz cards that integrate social media.
• HOW TO: Use Social Media for Lead Generation
  Being that social media is a great place to attract new customers, we put together a quick guide on how to use social media for lead generation.
• Why Small Businesses Shouldn’t Take Social Media for Granted
  When done right, social media can be a valuable source for customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Here a few reasons to help drive the value home.

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Tech

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• Are Groupon Stores and Do-It-Yourself Deals Worth the Risk?
  Groupon is rolling out a self-serve product called Groupon Stores that allows merchants to set up virtual storefronts and manage their own deals through the group buying site.
• How Online Private Sales Work and How Businesses Can Get Involved
  A look at the ins and outs of online private sales and how businesses can benefit from getting involved.
• 12 Video Tutorials for Improving Product Photos
  If your company sells items online, product photographs can be a key factor in how well they sell. These 12 tutorials will help improve your presentation.
• HOW TO: Connect With Other Entrepreneurs Online
  The best way to learn how to run a business is to run a business. But the second-best way is to ask someone else who runs a business. Check out these sites for advice.
• 5 Tips for Utilizing Skype for Business
  We could write a book-length guide on using SkypeSkype, but here are just five of our favorite tips for getting the most out of Skype for small business.
• HOW TO: Run Your Business Online With $10 and a Google Account
  Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to a customizable and scalable business infrastructure that lives where your employees do: in the cloud.

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Marketing & Advertising

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• HOW TO: Run Location-Based Google Ads
  Learn how to use Google Boost, a new location-based ad product for local businesses.
• HOW TO: Earn Some Inexpensive Online Exposure for Your Small Business
  Looking for inexpensive PR? We spoke to some PR pros to find out how to tap into the online media and get your biz a little exposure without breaking the bank.
• HOW TO: Manage Your Presence on Google Maps
  Many of the features that you might normally associate with YelpYelp are actually included in whatGoogleGoogle calls Place Pages. Learn how to manage your Google MapsGoogle Maps presence.
• 4 Tips for Writing SEO-Friendly Blog Posts
  Search rank can be a powerful way to drive readers and customers to your site. Check out this advice on how to make your business blog more Google-friendly.
• 15 Excellent Corporate Blogs to Learn From
  Although the act of blogging can be quite simple, forethought and planning must first go into the creation of a corporate blog in order to keep the processes running smoothly.
• 10 Tips for Corporate Blogging
  There is a laundry list of issues that need to be addressed when it comes to improving corporate blogs, but here we’ve narrowed it down to 10 tips that companies should work on.

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Dev & Design

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• 10 Free Drupal Themes for Small Business
  DrupalDrupal, an open source CMS, is a wonderful option for businesses needing a powerful website without the typical costs of having one made from scratch. Check out these free themes.
• 5 Beautiful Tumblr Themes for Small Businesses
  There are hundreds of great themes that you can use with TumblrTumblr to give your blog its own unique look. Here are five clean and professional faves for small business users.
• 10 Free WordPress Themes for Small Businesses
  Need a professional-looking WordPressWordPress theme to complement your business website or blog? Here are 10 great free options.
• HOW TO: Hire a Designer or Developer
  Here are four tips that will help you hire the best tech creatives and ensure you’re getting what you paid for.
• HOW TO: Communicate Needs & Expectations to Web Designers
  Hiring a designer is simple. But what you get from that designer depends on how well you communicate what you want, need, and expect. That part’s not so easy.
• HOW TO: Avoid Being a Disaster Client
  We spoke with a few designers to find out about their worst client experiences and what could be learned from them.
• 5 Lightweight CMS Alternatives for Small Businesses
  These five lightweight alternatives might not have as many options and features as a traditional CMS, but they are built with an emphasis on making web pages easy to create and update.
• 5 Small Biz Web Design Trends to Watch
  Here are five current design trends that most small businesses can tap into for great effect.

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Mobile

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• 13 Branded Mobile Apps That Got It Right
  Branded apps can be a great way to market your company while providing utility to users. Take a lesson from these 13 mobile marketing success stories.
• 9 iPhone Apps for Managing the Recruiting Process
  Instead of creating new processes or downloading a bunch of new apps, here are some iPhone apps you might already have that can help you manage the recruiting process.
• HOW TO: Build an App for Your Small Business
  Small to medium-sized businesses looking to build a Facebook, mobile or web app can choose to employ online DIY tools, freelancers, agencies or in-house devs. Learn more about the options.
• HOW TO: Accept Credit Card Payments on Mobile Devices
  Learn how to set up mobile payments with Square, Intuit GoPaymentIntuit GoPayment and Verifone’s PAYware Mobile.
• Why Small Businesses Should Care About Mobile Payments
  Studies show that mobile transactions are increasing exponentially. Will your business be ready when this trend hits the mainstream?
• HOW TO: Use QR Codes for Small Business Marketing
  If you’re unfamiliar with the business potential of QR codes, use this post as a crash course in how to get started.
• 5 Useful iPhone Apps for Business Networking
  Five useful iPhone apps that will help you become a better business networker.

ப்ளீஸ்! இந்தப் புத்தகத்தை வாங்காதீங்க!

"ப்ளீஸ் இந்த புத்தகத்தை வாங்காதீங்க" என்று அருமையான தலைப்பு. இந்த புத்தகத்தை வாங்குவதற்கு ஒரே காரணம் தலைப்பும், கோபிநாத்ம் தான். பொதுவாக தன்னம்பிக்கை தொடர்பான கதைகள், புத்தகங்களை படிப்பது எனக்கு ரொம்ப இஸ்டம். 

இந்த புக் ஒரு ஒளி விளக்கு, வீதி விளக்கு !! 

ப்ளீஸ்! 

- சிரிப்பு வந்தால் சிரியுங்கள்! நாளைக்கு அழுகை வந்தால் அழுது கொள்ளலாம். கொஞ்சமாக சிரித்து கொஞ்சமாக அழுவதை விட... நிறைய சிரித்து நிறைய அழுங்களேன் !

- உயிரே போனாலும் என் கொள்கையை விட்டுத் தரமாட்டேன் என்று நீங்கள் சண்டை போட்டால் அதற்குப் பெயர் கொள்கை அல்ல மனோ வியாதி !

எப்படி ? படியுங்கள் புரியும் !

இந்த உலகத்துல எல்லா பொருளுக்குமே ஒரு எக்ஸ்பயரி டேட் இருக்கும். 

அந்த எக்ஸ்பயரி டேட்டுக்குள்ளே நாம அதை நல்ல விதமா பயன்படுத்திக்கணும். 

இல்லைன்னா அது வேஸ்ட்டாயிடும். அதேமாதிரிதான் நம்ம வாழ்க்கையும். 

இதுக்கும் ஒரு எக்ஸ்பயரி டேட் இருக்கு. அது நம்ம மரணம்.

அதனால் நம்ம மரணத்துக்கு முன்பே நாலுக்கு பேருக்கு நல்லது பண்ணனும். 

இல்லைன்னா நம்ம வாழ்க்கைக்கு ! - அஜித்

Airtel Logo -- Flubber-based Logo !! 

WELL ?

Mash-up of Vodafone , Videocon, Cheap O Air brands !! The guess the new logo has totally ruined Air Tel's Brand name and the signature A.R. Rehman's tune...


Nothing has impacted them to promote or create a wave ....  Whats Airtel's move ? Am waiting ! 300 cr promotion has become a show stopper for AIRTEL !



http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/split-verdict-for-new-airtel/415678/

Web Advertising Guide:

If you operate a blog, have built a web app or are otherwise are trying to monetize a property on the web, advertising is one of the first paths that you might amble down. Let’s throw the baby in with the bathwater and say that ads will be your primary method of monetizing your idea. In that case you might need to be a little more sophisticated. This guide will step you through the process of finding the right advertisers for your site, and maximizing your revenue potential.

Types of revenue models from advertising

CPA

Cost Per Action (Affiliate) programs are sold through marketplaces like Commission Junction. These advertisements usual marked by high (sometimes very high) payouts, but the downside is that in order to make any money at all — users have to purchase the product or services from the advertising company through your site.

Typically, these types of ads perform best on high volume sites with services that compliment the product that the advertiser is trying to sell. If your site is about concert reviews, a Ticketmaster Affiliate program will perform a lot better than if your site was about Model Trains. If your site has no particular focus, Affiliates are going to be a hard sell.

I would suggest trying them out but realize that many, many times these will make you no money at all.

CPC

Cost Per Click advertisement is the first stop for many entrepreneurs looking for a way to monetize. Google Adsense is the most well known CPC vendor. The benefits of CPC are that these ad blocks are easy to set up, and they can potentially generate revenue even at small levels of traffic.

The downside to CPC advertising is that the revenue it generates is uneven because it strongly depends on ad placement location and niche your service operates in. Certain industries (typically those that sell high ticket products and services) can do really well under this model but many will find themselves with an inventory full of really low paying ads.

Typically, CPC is a good place to start until you get your feet wet; however, unless it’s consistently successful for you it does not scale as well as other options.

CPM

Cost Per Thousand advertising are what networks like Casale Media and Tribal Fusion deal in. You are paid per impression instead of for each click. Typically, for web services with high volume but relatively low engagement, this is a great option for monetization.

Not only do these networks often pay more than CPC advertising, but your payment is directly related to the number of pageviews that you get to your site. This makes it a lot easier to predict your advertising revenue from month to month.

The biggest drawbacks is that many of the good networks are difficult to get into, and the bad networks offer CPMs that are too low to be a viable revenue model. I suggest constantly shop around for better CPMs. As you grow and your audience becomes more engaged, you should be looking for networks that are willing to pay you more for that engagement.

Boutiques

BlogAds, Federated Media, and The Deck are three examples of boutique ad networks. Typically, these companies focus their attention on specific verticals and have extremely high standards in the sites that they let in. As a result, the CPMs that they pay are often substantially higher than similarly positioned networks.

In order to be considered for one of these networks, you will either have to have a service that is high profile, targets a very specific niche or extremely high volume. Since these are premium advertisers, they might also have stricter rules about how their ads can be displayed.

Usually, by the time you are ready to apply for a Boutique ad network your real question will be whether you want to outsource your sales or handle them yourself. If you decide that doing sales internally is not in your best interest, these networks are an excellent source of revenue.

Direct Sales

If you have the team, the time, and the patience the best way to make money off of ads is selling them yourself. Not only do you not have to pay an ad network a portion of what you make, but you also have complete control over how the ads will be presented and what type of advertisers that you choose to take on.

It sounds great but the big thing to remember is that selling advertising is not easy. Everything from identifying potential advertisers, to determining a price point that makes sense for your customers to providing them with the details of how well their ad is doing takes time. When you are a young company, that time might be better spent taking care of more pressing problems.

If you are ready to invest in an ad sales team, the biggest thing to remember is that advertisers pay premiums for strong verticals, high click through rate and exclusivity. When building your package, try to have one or more of these “features” as a part of it.

Understanding key terms

When shopping around for an advertising network, there are three phrases you will hear a lot. Understanding the distinction between them will save you time, effort and lost revenue.

Ad network

Examples: Adsense, Adbrite, Bidvertisers.

An ad network serves ads in a format as determined by their technology. Take a look at the three examples that I gave, you will see that each of them has a particular format of ads that they carry — whether it is Adsense’s contextual model or Adbrite’s marketplace, each network brings to the table both the technology and the creative to serve with it. Typically, ad networks have no problem filling your inventory and they pay out on a cost per click or cost per action basis.

Ad servers

Examples: Doubleclick (DART), Right Media, Atlas

An ad server is a “capsule” that tracks and displays ads. It is neither an ad network nor is it a rep agency, it’s a piece of software. Ad servers allow you to track the number of impressions you are serving, analyze the demographic data surrounding it and control which networks and rep agencies get impressions. The better ad servers let you target your campaigns by a number of psychogaphic and demographic criteria. There are a few good free ad serving solutions available (OpenAds for instance), however, if serving ads will be a serious part of your business (and you have the minimum required pageviews) you should look into purchasing DART or Atlus.

Rep Agency

Examples: Technorati Media, Federated Media, and Gorilla Nation

We often use the words ad network when we mean to say rep agency, there is a significant difference.

A rep agency is a company that acts as a broker between publishers and agencies. In exchange for getting deals with major brand advertisers (Netflix, Fritos, Pepsi etc . . .) they take a portion of the revenue (anywhere between 30-60%). Rep agencies can be extraordinarily beneficial because they have well connected sales teams who can land deals that many small companies cannot. The good ones have an inside track with the major ad agencies, and they control a substantial volume of impressions — which makes it easier for them to get agencies to the table. Most large web properties, even those capable of doing direct sales will sell a portion of their inventory through rep agencies. It simplifies sales cycles and ensures that everyone “gets an ad.” Since every impression served from a rep agency represents a “sale,” these networks typically have a harder time filling inventory than ad networks.

The advertising chain

Setting up a set of campaigns for a large site means understanding the advertising chain. No one provider will be able to fill all of your available advertising inventory with the highest paying ads. How do you solve this? You chain a bunch of different providers together. Applications like the Rubicon Project and Pubmatic exist to make this easier, but you can do it on your own with a little bit of work.

Direct sales

This represents the most expensive ads in your stable. These are ads sold by your sales team. Typically the rate in which these ads are displayed are determined by contract you have with the advertiser. In most cases these will exist near the top of your chain and will take up anywhere from 30 to 60% of your inventory.

Rep Agency sales

Next down the line come your high quality rep agencies. The rule of thumb is to pick the one with the highest CPM and fill rate to exist at the top, and plug in other networks as passbacks. A passback is an additional provider that will be given an opportunity to serve an ad should the provider further up the chain be unable to. At this point you should have taken care of 20 or 30% more of your inventory, enough to finish the chain using . . .

Ad Networks

If you still have unsold inventory, don’t be afraid to throw in an ad network like Adsense. Under the right conditions, these networks can generate a substantial amount of revenue and just as importantly, they rarely ever have a problem with fill. Don’t give up on trying to fill your inventory using providers further up the chain though, typically ad networks provide lower quality, more generic ads than either direct sales or rep agencies.

Here is an example of an advertising chain:

Ad server: DART

Toshiba (Direct Sale)
Netflicks (Direct Sale)
Technorati Media (Rep Agency)

• Tribal Fusion (Passback)
• Blue Lithium (Passback)

Adsense (Ad Network)

Making money from ads on the web is a balancing act. Always, you are trying to maintain the highe,st possible CPM while still filling out your inventory. To do this requires experimentation and a little bit of patience. Never be afraid to keep trying, the more work you are willing to put into it, the more money you are likely to get out of it.

(emailer)

Rajnikanth -- Boss of Indian Cinema !!

Dummy Credit Card Numbers for Web / Application Testing:

List of dummy credit card number that can be used while testing your applications involving credit card transactions:

Visa: 4111-1111-1111-1111

MasterCard: 5431-1111-1111-1111

Amex: 341-1111-1111-1111

Discover: 6011-6011-6011-6611

Credit Card Prefix Numbers:

Visa: 13 or 16 numbers starting with 4

MasterCard: 16 numbers starting with 5

Discover: 16 numbers starting with 6011

AMEX: 15 numbers starting with 34 or 37