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Small Business Saturday, the designated day for supporting small businesses, boasted a record 103 million consumers, far exceeding the pre-Thanksgiving projection of 89 million. American Express statistics indicate that small businesses had a 23% increase in card-member transactions.

Additionally, public awareness rose 65% this year, up 37% over last year. This is largely due to support from 75 corporations, such as Facebook, Google and FedEx, as well as more than 230 small-business advocacy groups. Finally, social media played an integral role in the success of this lesser-known shopping day: more than 2.7 million Facebook users “liked” Small Business Saturday, and Twitter users contributed nearly 200,000 tweets.

“We want to thank all the consumers, public officials, community organizations, chambers of commerce and corporate partners who were part of the movement,” American Express Chairman and CEO Kenneth I. Chenault said in a statement. “By supporting small businesses across America, they are helping to create jobs, boost the economy and preserve our neighborhoods.”

What does this mean for small businesses?

These statistics show that American consumers have not given up on small businesses, despite ongoing concerns over the shaky economy. In addition, the fact that so many influential companies were willing to work together to put the word out shows that, despite popular opinion that corporations are only interested in their own bottom line, this is simply not the case. It would seem that everyone is willing to work to ensure that small businesses continue to flourish.

Moreover, this shows the effectiveness of social media. What was once discounted as a waste of time, or little more than a way to stay in touch with friends and family, seems to have taken on a life of its own. Facebook not only gives consumers a chance to promote businesses online, but it also offers businesses a chance to advertise and target specific demographics or consumers, thus increasing brand visibility and name recognition.

This also shows the effectiveness of small businesses who took advantage of the hype, and offered their own specials to lure customers. Maria Baugh, co-owner of New York City-based Butter Lane Cupcakes, which promoted Small Business Saturday and offered special sales, said “We more than doubled last year’s business and quadrupled what would be a normal Saturday for us. You need to run your own specials in conjunction with SBS and also really, really promote it in order to get the most out of it. But when you do those things, it can provide a boost to your business.”

By being proactive with your business and marketing strategies, you will show your current and future customers that they matter to you, and that you are willing to do what it takes to remain competitive.  You also increase brand awareness, which will always work to your benefit. As an example, imagine that you are planning a trip to Chicago. When you are trying to decide which Chicago hotels and attractions to visit, are you more likely to choose one that you have heard good things about and that is offering attractive deals, or will you go with one that has neither working in their favor?

By understanding the impact of online engagement and taking advantage of all of the benefits it can offer to your small business, you can gain a toehold in the market, and grow from there. Many once believed the Internet was a passing trend, and that it would never have a lasting impact on businesses and consumerism, but time has proven these naysayers wrong.  Hopefully this information has reaffirmed the idea that business is not dead and furthered the notion and these same numbers can carry over to this year.

Infographic: Facebook User Reaction to Making Timeline Mandatory

Facebook is no stranger to resistance, take a look at of the new features they released in the past… Noone was a fan of the news feed, but it seems to be one of the most popular features on Facebook today!

Forbes magazine recently reported that India is now Facebook Nation No.2, for country with the most active Facebook users after the US.  In a years time, India went from ranking No. 6 to moving infront of the previous No. 2 Facebook Nation, Indonesia.

Real-time rankings for countries with the most active Facebook users according to checkfacebook.com.

1. United States: 155,699,640
2. India: 43,497,980
3. Indonesia: 43,060,360
4. Brazil: 37,907,400
5. Mexico: 32,031,340
6. Turkey: 31,247,120
7. United Kingdom: 30,249,340
8. Philippines: 27,593,300
9. France: 23,599,740
10. Germany: 22,600,660

At this rate, Facebook is projected to reach 1 billion active users by August.   “There are about 6.9 billion people currently living in the world, and Facebook is projected to capture close to 14% of that number by the end of this summer.” – Jeff Hughes, Digital Trends.  Just another impressive statistic to add to the list for Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg.

]]> http://www.inqbation.com/international-facebook-statistics-which-countries-have-the-most-users/feed/ 0 http://www.inqbation.com/facebook-timeline-of-events-a-history-introductions/ http://www.inqbation.com/facebook-timeline-of-events-a-history-introductions/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:12:06 +0000 Amanda http://www.inqbation.com/?p=6695 Read more »]]> Typically, the introduction of new Facebook functionality is never warmly welcomed.  I am guilty of showing resistance to new Facebook features, maybe because I am a control freak and I hate when my interface changes without being able to have any control over it…  but I have to admit, I was able to clean up my act with Timeline‘s face-lift to my Facebook profile.

Here’s a chart from BBC News displaying the history of introductions leading up to Facebook’s most recent introduction, Timeline.

Facebook Timeline of Events:
The History of Facebook Introductions & Growth of Active Users

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

• September 2004 - The Wall, the original space where users and their friends can post and share content, is added to users’ profiles. Status updates which were of the form “user is…” are now “What’s on your mind?”.
• September 2006 - News Feed and Mini-Feed are introduced – now users can see what their friends are doing on the network.
• May 2007 - Facebook Platform launches, enabling third party developers to build applications and integrate with Facebook. It’s the platform on which hit games like Farmville are built.
• May 2008 – Facebook Connect starts. Users are able to “connect” their Facebook identity to any site. It marks the beginning of the “log in with Facebook” world.
• February 2009 - The “Like” social plug-in is added, allowing users to give positive feedback about online content they enjoy.
• August 2010 - Location-based service Facebook Places begins allowing users to share information about where they are. This feature is later
• January 2012 - Facebook announces “Timeline” will be mandatory for all users.  Timeline was launched in September 2011, allowing users the option to replace their existing profile with an audio visual timeline of their life.integrated with status updates.

In conclusion…

People tend to forget or ignore that there is a unwritten understanding / binding contract when you’re involved with technology & the Internet.   By using any application, tool, browser, website, etc… you agree to adapt to any advancements, enhancements, upgrades, make-overs, face-lifts, implants that are defined by the developers/creators/owners as necessary requirements to keep technology moving forward.

Now, if you disagree with their definition of “moving forward” then I suggest you make your own app, tool, browser, website, etc.. because if you didn’t make it or pay to develop it, you can’t really complain!  A lesson I’m still trying to teach myself

Related Blogs: Facebook Timeline – Helped Me Clean Up My Act!

In all honesty, I’ve been resistant to every single change that Facebook has introduced.  This includes when they introduced adding photos then tagging photos, I actually was outraged!   I thought… “What an invasion of privacy, how could they!?” Fast-forward to today and you’ll notice hundreds of photos and albums tagged on my Facebook account!

Outraged. That’s also how I felt when a few weeks ago I accidentally clicked switch to Timeline.  I spent hours reading blogs and looking for a way to go BACK!  The bottom line is, you can’t go back.. you are using Facebook’s services and therefore they make the ultimate decisions.

Now come to think of it, Timeline actually helped me clean up my “public image” if you will.  All of that exposed “private” information was already there!  It just probably took a super-stalker to click through all of your posts to actually find something from 2005, but my point is.. is that it’s always been there & easily accessible!

The difference now is that I can quickly access a time period on my wall i.e. back in 2005 (while I was a reckless college student).  Timeline allows me to quickly delete all of those “awesome decisions” I choose to make public via incriminating wall posts and embarrassing 3AM status updates that I thought were funny after a night out at the bars.

In the end, I’ve got to thank Facebook for introducing Timeline and allowing me to clean up my act!

Related Blog Posts: Facebook Timeline of Events – A History of Introductions

With that being the case, businesses are foolish for not having a formidable online presence, in essence, an informative Web site that provides valuable information, connects with current and potential customers in real-time, and stays one step ahead of the competition electronically.

There are, however, instances where being engaged on the Internet can be an issue for a company.

Take for instance when a consumer complains about a company’s product and/or service. If the complaint takes place online, it is imperative that the business respond in an expedient and professional manner.

One big mistake that businesses oftentimes make, however, is that they let their emotions get the best of them, meaning their response or lack thereof ends up putting the company in a bad light. When that happens, not only does the company see its mistake/s online, but countless others do too.

In the event your business is confronted with a disgruntled consumer or consumers on your Web site, in a chat room forum, etc. how best should you handle it?

Among the things to consider:

• Listen to the message – The message coming from the consumer could be something as simple as they though the prices they paid were a little too high. Then again, it could be someone who is thoroughly upset with the customer service they received and they want the world to know about. Whatever the issue is, be sure that you or your marketing/PR team (whoever is designated to respond) hears what the customer is saying before firing off an ill-advised response;
• Obtain and review all the information – Make sure the person responding has all the necessary information before making a response. The worst thing that can happen besides ignoring it altogether is sending off a response that not only upsets the customer further, but truly does not address their concern/s;
• Avoidance is not an option – Unless the remark is just so off the charts that it is deemed not worthy of a response, by all means reply with a composed and thoughtful message. When you try and hide from the message and the messenger, it gives off a message that your company doesn’t care about its customers or those interested in your product. Would you as a consumer want to do business with such a company in your personal life? In more cases than not, the answer is likely no;
• Put a policy in place – If your company does not already have one, proceed with putting an online customer service response policy in place. Given that some companies have been slow to migrate to the Internet, they may not have previously dealt with such a matter. Make sure your employees are aware of the company policy so that they do nothing to damage the company reputation online.

As the social media world continues to expand, so too will the opportunities for consumers to get away from sending letters or calling on the phone to complain.

In today’s Internet world, consumers are just a few keystrokes away from letting much of the world know whether or not you’re a company people should do business with.

Federal agencies need small businesses to contract out for goods and services, and mid and large-tier organizations are looking to small business partners for strategic contract wins. The playing field has widened yet so has competition. How can small businesses become known entities in the new Federal contracting environment?

Government contractors can leverage their online communications – from website design, to online branding, to content marketing, to social media to search engine optimization to mobile-friendly technology – to promote their goods and services to government agency and prime contractor partners.

In this series, we will explore the increasingly important role web presence plays in winning government business.

First, Get Found – Search Engine Optimization

inQbation has advanced mastery skills of search engine optimization (SEO).   Google, “DC SEO experts,” and you will see inQbation.com on top.   The most important element of SEO is selecting and using the right keywords.  Often, we will observe that the language and terminology that organizations use may or may not be the same as those that its target audience uses.

If an organization wants their site to rank high on search engines and be found by its intended target audience, it is imperative that representatives of the target audience be interviewed in a non-leading way to identify their natural online search behavior.  We need to use the key words that our target audience might use, not the internal technical or clinical language that we might use, to find the type of content that we have on our site.

We have observed and identified the 5 most important elements of search engine optimization.  Most websites that apply these elements tend to rank very well across all search engines.  Those that do not apply these elements often struggle with their SEO.  These are the most import elements of SEO:

1.       Choose the right keywords – those that your target audience my use

2.       Inject unique keyword phrases (3-5 words) into page title tags

3.       Inject important keyword phrases into page headings

4.       Use important key words in link text and navigation links

5.       Weave important keywords into the URLs and directory path

Our SEO strategy includes a well-rounded, holistic approach that encompasses:

• Crawlability – because search engines need to crawl your site to index it
• Credibility – because search engines prefer to deliver credible results
• Content – because your site’s content must be relevant to a search query
• Code – because search engines read your source code and meta tags
• Conversation – because search engines monitor social media
• Competition – because it’s easier to rank for less competitive keyword phrases
• Conversion – because it’s about getting qualified clients, not just gross traffic
• Compliance – because valid HTML, CSS, and 508 code helps search engine.

Find out how your website scores, for free!

Email results@inQbation.com for a free assessment of your website  presence.  At no cost to you, we will use professional  tools to grade your findability, and give you your score and supporting metrics.

1″Savvy contractors to capitalize on 2012 spending trends.” http://www.legalnews.com/detroit/1177583/. Detroit Legal News. 17 January 2012. Web.

2 Matthew Weigelt. “Agencies that miss small-biz goals could face penalties.” http://fcw.com/articles/2012/01/25/small-business-goal-reduced-budget-penalty.aspx. 25 January 2012. Federal Computer Week. Web.

Managing Facebook Page Admins

• Click the “See All” link in the “Admins” column on the right side of the Page
• A list of all of the current admins for your Facebook Page will appear on your screen.  Here, you will be able to add new admin users or remove existing admin users.

Before you add a new Facebook Page admin; are you aware of how much control you are handing over?

Facebook Page Admins – Who do you trust?

Adding Facebook Page Admins

• Enter the user’s e-mail address you would like to add as an admin for your Page
•  Click “Save Changes” to add the admin, otherwise your changes will not be made

Removing Facebook Page Admins

• Click the “Remove” link next to the name of the user
• Click “Save Changes” to remove the admin, otherwise your changes will not be made

inQbation, LLC has been selected to participate in The Entrepreneur Center @NVTC’s FastTrac® TechVenture™ Program for the Spring of 2012

FastTrac® TechVenture™ is a comprehensive business planning program that addresses the needs of start-up entrepreneurs who are refining their business ideas, writing their business plans and seeking to grow sustainable high-impact companies. The program combines instruction from experienced business professionals, one-on-one business mentoring, peer learning, and ample tools to help entrepreneurs produce all the elements of an effective business. After completing the program, entrepreneurs walk away with a detailed business plan and executive summary presentation, and a strong understanding of how to finance a company.

The Entrepreneur Center @NVTC is a resource hub for technology-focused start-ups and entrepreneurs at every stage of their lifecycle. The Entrepreneur Center fosters entrepreneurship in students, mentors the first-time entrepreneur, advises and supports the experienced entrepreneur, and facilitates strategic business relationships in the technology community.

For more information see www.nvtc.org