I heard the call for breakfast. My sisters and I, barely awake, slowly shuffled across the hardwood floors, down the steps and into the kitchen.

I didn’t know what the day had in store for me. I was only 8 or 9 at the time. We lived on several acres of land. My sisters and I always found something to do. Maybe I would ride my bike. Maybe I would go explore the acres of forest behind our house. Or maybe I would play in the hayloft in the barn.

I sat down at the table where my mother was serving breakfast (how I miss that) – two fried eggs, two slices of bacon, a piece of toast with butter and a glass of milk. What to do today, I was thinking. My fate would quickly be decided for me.

“Bill?”

“Yes, dad.”

“I need your help today.”

I didn’t mind helping my dad. I was eager to just hang out with him (remember, i was under 10 and my dad was still cool.). He would sometimes let me drive “Big Bill”. That was one of the  tractors on the farm. I would sit on his lap, he would push the pedals and I would steer. And yes, I had a tractor with my name on it!

There was one job on the farm I dreaded more than any other thing – picking rocks from the freshly plowed fields. For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, good for you. And for the small minority who do, you can sympathize. It was a labor intensive process.

 And then I heard those dreaded words come out of his mouth.

“I need help picking rocks.”

I replied “Aw, dad.”

He replied with just “the look.”  The power that his look possessed would have made Super Man weak in the knees. That’s all it took. I was picking rocks today.

“Be outside in 15 minutes,” my dad said.

Just like the job implies, you pick rocks out of the fields so when it came time to harvest, the rocks wouldn’t get caught in the machine that would harvest the crops. If a rock got caught in the harvester, it could quickly put it out of commission for days – until the mechanic could come fix it. You only had one machine – these were $100k+ pieces of equipment. You were always dealing with a small window of time when it came to harvesting. You have to harvest just when the crops are at their peek. Any delay could mean lower prices when it came time to sell them. That meant it was critical that stones were removed from the fields.

Growing up on a farm, I quickly learned what hard work was and the dedication it took to be an entrepreneur. Picking rocks was one of the hardest jobs there was on our farm. We managed over 3,000 acres of crops (that’s a lot of rocks to pick), a couple hundred head of cattle and a fleet of trucks (to transport all the crops). It was a big operation at the time – the largest in Wisconsin.

As I look back on my childhood, it hadn’t dawned on me until recently that I experienced a phenomenal transition in American history. For decades, America relied on the family farm for food. Nothing was more American than the small family farmer. Advancements in farming and crop output today has changed America’s landscape forever. The family farm is quickly disappearing and being replaced by big corporate farms.  Drive around my old stomping grounds and you will see decaying barns and new housing developments where silos once stood.

The Last Farmer Standing

The 80’s ushered in a new kind of ‘farmer’ – the technology farmer. I witnessed first hand the chapter close on the family farmer only to usher in a new era with the computer revolution and information age. Very few people can say they straddled two transformational eras in America’s history.

My dad never pushed me into taking over the family farm. I went off to college to set a new path for my life. When I look back on the history of my family, I am the first son on my dad’s side not to be a farmer. When I left for college I had no idea that I was not only setting a new course for myself but also changing the family’s lineage and taking part in a massive transformation happening in American history. We’ve gone full circle from a time where most Americans where entrepreneurs during the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age where only the rich could afford the large machines in factories to the Information Age where the cost to start a business is extremely low.

From the Family Farm to the Server Farm

The life lessons I learned growing up on my family farm in Wisconsin have helped me succeed as an entrepreneur and provide perspective as I pioneer a new chapter in America’s history. It takes the same hard work, passion and patience to be a technology entrepreneur as my dad possessed when he started his farm with just one cow (seed capital) and a dream. You have to dig in, get your hands dirty and realize some years you are going to have bad crops. You can control what you can but outside forces are playing against you like mother nature or a well funded competitor.

 Am I still picking rocks? Sure.  Every time I throw one into the pile, another one appears… intellectual property rights, SPAM, economic uncertainty, ever changing technology, new competitors cropping up.  Success means learning and adapting continually.  My life on the farm has prepared me well for the challenges of the new era.

As far as my family’s farm? That has long been gone. My parents have retired from farming and moved to the ‘big city’ living comfortably in a condo about 30 miles from where I grew up. My mom still wakes up early and makes fried eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. When we get together, we talk about the ‘old days” and reminisce about the times in the fields. And then my dad always turns to me and asks, “What is it that you exactly do again?”

The post Brought Up to be an Entrepreneur: Early Life on the Family Farm appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

In short, I was hoping to find solutions for the following pressing needs:

1. Remote access to real-time data for management in different locations.

Results: This functionality within Quickbooks Online has maximized our time management and allows the stakeholders to make informed decisions with up-to-date financial information such as Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flows, Company Snapshot, Invoices, Purchase Orders, etc.

Tip 1: Set up time early on for live training to run through all the functionality and different types of reporting features available. You want your team using this data.

Tip 2: Create memorized reports for specific needs (finance, marketing, sales, product development, etc.). Through the Manage Users functionality, you can see how active they have been.

2. Upload daily online banking and PayPal transactions with a simple keystroke.

Results: Huge time saver. We can quickly download banking transactions and hundreds of PayPal transactions automatically on any given banking day. In addition, QuickBooks categorizes them to save us more time. In the past, each one would have required a journal entry or at least, a consolidated entry without any supporting detail.

Tip 1: Don’t spend much time troubleshooting if you run into a glitch. This happened to us when our bank changed our account names. Online support was quick to respond and very helpful in correcting the problem.

Tip 2: Using the same functionality, you can have QuickBooks download and categorize your credit card statements.

3. Store all our records in one place. I wanted to attach files (word, excel, pdf, etc.) to vendor records, invoices and journal entries. Ultimately, I want the business to be organized all in one place.

Results: I love being able to drill down into a record, have all the invoices and other supporting materials attached. This feature has improved our efficiency immensely.  It is an organizational life and time saver – everything is in one place, organized and searchable.

Tip 1: Use this feature! The extra ten seconds it takes to upload a file, will save you twenty minutes trying to locate it later.

4. Data backed up automatically.

Results: This is seamless and a huge sigh of relief for me. All data is backed up automatically every two hours and kept securely on Intuit’s remote servers. I don’t even think twice now about backing up.

Tip 1: If you’re nervous about your data being stored in the cloud, you can download a copy of your data to store on your own PC with a few short steps. I have yet to use my downloaded file, but feel more secure knowing that I have it local.

Final Tip: Don’t hesitate to use QuickBooks Online free technical support via email, live chat, phone and support directly on Intuit’s website. They are the experts and can be immense time-savers. More on that when I discuss my QuickBooks Online Payroll experience.

I’ll continue to post over the next few weeks some of my “learning curve” experiences and useful advice. So far, QuickBooks Online has proven to be very effective in solving our small business efficiency and automation needs mentioned above.

Share your tips in the comments below.

The post 7 tips for start-ups and SMBs moving from desktop to a cloud-based accounting software appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

A few highlights:

• 46% of your customers rely on social media when making a purchase decision
• Businesses with 51 to 1oo Twitter followers generate 106% more traffic than those with 25 or fewer followers
• 71% of social media users are more likely to purchase from a business they are connect with

The post 46% of your customers rely on social media when making a purchase decision (Infographic) appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

Quick links to each program:

Facebook for business
Twitter for small business
Dlvr.it Promoted Stories

With AdSense, you know what to expect when advertising. You know if you spend $50 in clicks, you can pretty much estimate your return. When you start anything new, including promoting content through social networks, it is a gamble. Will it work? With the increasing amount of time prospects are tethered to social networks,  it is prudent business to test the ad performance across social.

How do you reduce the risk of promoting content in social media? I have used this simple, yet effective plan, with hundreds of clients. I included the step-by-step approach along with a infographic at the bottom that visualized the process.

Step 1. Understand how prospects use each platform

Google AdSense is fueled by people looking to fill a particular need (i.e. clothes, food, shelter, directions). Social networking is fueled by the status updates, sharing, and connecting. Your prospects are using search engines very differently then social networks.

This means promoted content ads in social media require a different approach to the creative.

• AdSense creative: “<insert your company name> has what you are looking for.”
• Promoted content creative: “Hi, how are you today. What can I help you with?”

Promoting content in social starts with creating compelling content that moves prospects to invite you into their lifestream. 

Putting this to work.

1. Create content that addresses a customer’s need. Imagine a customer walking into your business, what questions did they ask you before they bought your product/service? Create a blog post that addresses that question.

2. Make content searchable, snackable and shareable.Customer’s attention is fragmented across devices, social networks, websites, blogs, search engines, apps, etc. Create a piece of content ONCE and map where you send it as well as where it might be shared.
   • Searchable: optimize the blog post for search
   • Snackable: consumers are on the go, consuming content in small bits through some sort of lifestreaming interface. Make your blog post easy to scan – use bullets, indents, big sub headlines and visuals.
   • Shareable: Don’t make the headline too long so it gets cut off in Twitter’s 140 characters but make it compelling. Enable your blog with all the easy sharing buttons

3. Set your content free. The last mile of content creation is distribution. Often time’s distribution is an afterthought. Most of our prospects media consumption habits have shifted, we have to shift with them. We have to meet our consumers where they are. It is no longer, ‘build it and they will come.’ We have to be invited into their lifestreams. You do that by being where and when they are on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. (learn how dlvr.it can help scale syndication to social.)

Social media is a real-time focus group at scale. It can help you determine very quickly and accurately what to use in your promoted content programs. 

Step 2. Measure the success of your content

I believe in simple metrics. Especially as a small business, you don’t have time to pour through screens of data trying to figure out how to move your business forward. If you’re like me, I want to digest a few key metrics that will have the biggest impact. There are three key metrics to help you reduce risk when promoting content in social media. Measure actionable data that has the biggest impact on helping you create compelling content that moves prospects and lowers your media cost.

1. Content Analysis

• Create a list of headlines ranked by activity generated (clicks, retweets, sales)
• Continue with what works in paid media (see more on this below)
• Change and republish low performing stories (try a new headline)

2.  Demographic Analysis

• Discover what resonates with different social groups
• Determine what content to create for each group
• Direct paid media to the exact audience

3.  Sentiment Analysis:

• Surfaces future story ideas and direction
• Serves as a signal for future product, sales and marketing ideas
• Supplies keyword and category data to inform paid media

Step 3. Grow with promoted content

At this point you should have found 1.) What content performs best 2). Who it resonates with 3). What categories and keywords provide the best signal for you to buy media against

Check list for paid media buying

1. Assemble the assets

• Targeting: Keyword, category, demographic
• Content: Re-purpose what resonated with earned & owned audiences

2. Add tracking link appends (example UTM codes with Google Analytics)
   • Example: http://dlvr.it/?utm_source=dlvr.it_blog&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=Dlvr_blog_distr

3. Measure. Apply the same measuring techniques from Step 2 above.

Summary

1. Distribute. Syndicate your content where your customers are
2. Measure. Social media is the new focus group. A few key metrics can minimize your exposure
3. Grow. Use what content resonates with your audience and use it to attract a similar audience through social ad buying

The post The secrect to maximizing ROI with promoted content ads on Facebook, Twitter and dlvr.it appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

Master these three steps and you will become a Twitter rock star:

1. Constantly test headlines
2. Use hashtags wisely
3. Incorporate Twitter Cards

Step 1. Constantly test headlines

Headlines are the lifeblood of Twitter. Mastering the art of headline writing on Twitter is crucial to success on this medium. Most content today is consumed in streams – a constant flow of moving headlines scanned on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. Because Twitter focuses heavily on text (vs. images or photos like Facebook), headlines are what grabs the attention of the reader. If you do email marketing, the equivalent is writing the perfect subject line.

However, unlike email, doing an A/B test on Twitter poses a problem. Once a headline is posted to Twitter it has the potential to reach all followers immediately. How can you do an A/B test on Twitter and find the perfect headline? One solution is to re-post the same content with a different headline.

As previously mentioned, Twitter is a stream of content that is constantly flowing. Your readers jump into that stream at different times throughout the day. About 75% of all Tweets see no clicks or retweets for various reasons including not relevant or compelling, wasn’t seen, or sent at the wrong time . This creates an opportunity to re-post the same article with a different headline. Yes, some readers will see the article twice but as long as you are not abusing your stream, this is a safe way to increase clicks to your site and pick up a few clicks from those who missed your content the first time.

Look through your website reports (dlvr.it offers great tools for this) to understand the headlines that received the most traffic and look for the keywords and concepts locked within those headlines that you can incorporate into your next blog post.

Step 2. Use hashtags wisely

Twitter is like a busy shopping mall – millions of people scattered throughout the mall having thousands of different conversations at the same time. Imagine you are a merchant in that mall selling shoes. Wouldn’t you want to directly connect with people who are talking about shoes? Of course you would.

A hashtag allows you to do that. Hashtags are RELEVANT keyword(s) added to a tweet that categorize that tweet.  Simply pick the right keyword(s) and add the ‘#’ symbol before it. Keep in mind; hashtags are one word, no spaces.

Adding hashtags to your tweets expose your content to new audiences that are interested in exactly what you have to say. People on Twitter follow hashtags that are important to them. Hashtags are a great way to add new followers. Make sure your hashtags are relevant to your content. Putting inappropriate hashtags on tweets to game the system, is a form of spam.

Go to Twitter.com and do a search for hashtags that are relevant to your business. See what people are tweeting on that subject. This is helpful when you are looking for ideas for your next blog post.

Benefits of hashtags:

• Grow followers on Twitter
• Create relevant content your customers are talking about
• Find influencers in your business category to follow

Step 3. Incorporate Twitter Cards

Twitter Cards are the equivalent to adding an attachment to an email. As stated earlier, Twitter is mainly based on text. This new feature makes it possible to include a richer media experience. Once you have the required code on your blog, Twitter automatically adds the image or video found at your blog URL you are sharing on Twitter. Easy!

A few things to know about Twitter Cards:

1. You will need to  add code to your blog to enable Twitter Cards
2. You have to apply to participate

Twitter is still experimenting with the user experience of Twitter Cards which is why you have to apply to enable them. It is in Twitter’s best interest to get it right and scale.

So why apply for Twitter Cards now? It is simple: increased clicks. A picture is worth a thousand words and video even more. There is plenty of data showing how social media updates that include images or video, increase clicks.

Remember, content marketing takes time. You have to be consistent. If you are adding value to your followers, they will reciprocate by clicking, sharing and buying.

Hear more practical ‘how to’ advice on increasing traffic on Twitter and on other social networks at the 3rd annual Content Marketing Strategies Conference May 7-9, 2013 in Berkeley, CA hosted by dlvr.it.

The post Get more traffic from Twitter in 3 easy steps appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

The critical extract reads: “Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance.”

We said it before in a blog post, “Time to give Google+ a second look – the 2nd largest social platform“, Google+ has size in terms of users but now, the missing link to search is there.

If you need to scale content distribution to Google+, read more about dlvr.it’s new Google+ posting tool.

The post Google+ content is given priority in search – it’s official appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

1. Enhance your SEO: Content shared on Google+ is indexed more quickly and appears in search results faster than any other social media channel. Read 10 Dead Simple Tips to Take advantage of Google+ for SEO
2. Brands are people too: Unlike Facebook, Google+ Pages will have the ability to interact and engage with any  Google+ user. Major plus.
3. Increase Engagement: Google+ circles are a natural way to target specific content to users. Combined with privacy settings, Google+ allows for the right content to be seen by the right customer. More relevant content means higher engagement.

If you are already using dlvr.it to share content on Twitter and Facebook, in just a few clicks, increase your brand visibility with over 500M people on Google+.

The post Time to give Google+ a second look – the 2nd largest social platform appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

1. More referral traffic and customers to your site or business.
2. Increased opportunity for your content to appear in “LinkedIn Today”.
3. Additional data on the customers and prospects that interact with your content.

Haven’t hooked up dlvr.it to instantly send your content to LinkedIn? Consider the facts:

1. According to a recent MarketingProfs study, LinkedIn has surpassed Twitter as the social media channel of choice among B2B marketers for content distribution.
2. Linked users have 2x more trust in content found on LinkedIn vs. other social networks. (LinkedIn survey)
3. If you sell to SMBs, with over 15M SMBs worldwide on LinkedIn, the social network is a great channel to reach this market.
4. A recent study from Harris Interactive found 68% of adults who are a member of LinkedIn say they use the site mainly to consume content. This leads all social networks!

Dlvr.it streamlines and simplifies reaching LinkedIn’s 180M+ readers – your potential customers. Improve your experience on LinkedIn with dlv.it today.

We have a number of additional features coming soon to increase your visibility across LinkedIn.

The post LinkedIn And dlvr.it Link-up To Create A Superior Content Sharing Experience appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

One of the most fulfilling volunteer jobs I have is coaching my son’s basketball team. Last year, we had an undefeated season and won the league championship. People would ask me what our secret was. I responded, everyone had a roll and we played together as a team. We did not have superstars. We played as one. A new season is upon us. We have a few new faces on the team but the message is the same, “Play as a team and we will win games. A win is a result of the progress we make together from week to week.”

There is no “i” in team, but there is in business.

Does the sport analogy, ‘there is no “i” in team, translate to business? In a quest to answer my question, I stumbled upon research by Natalie Allen and Tracey Hecht.  The results may surprise you.

We see it all the time in job descriptions ‘must be a team player’. It has become a generic inclusion. The concept of teams within an organization is said to be one of the most common organizational changes over the last 20 years. More than half of all US companies have some sort of team format.

Two heads may not be better than one.

Do we really know what it means to be a team player in the office? Is it the best thing for business? Allen and Hecht’s research states team work is over hyped. The research indicates the romance of team outweighs the performance. The romance of team refers to faith in the effectiveness of team-based work. I was shocked to read that groups perform either no differently or significantly worse than individuals. Furthermore, groups recall significantly less learned material than individuals.

• High performing groups are not normal, instead groups often have huge variations in ability from top to bottom.
• People in groups often waste time squabbling over goals.
• Groups frequently suffer downward performance spirals.

When it comes to brainstorming, another team related term thrown around in the office, Allen and Hecht state, “… numerous studies provide strong evidence that interacting groups actually generate far fewer or, at best, the same number of ideas, as compared with the combined efforts of several individuals working alone.”

But, teams do have value. Right?

If working in teams produces marginal returns, what is the value of the team? Allen and Hecht point out that teams can be psychological beneficial. Teams fulfill some of the social needs that all of us have (e.g., belonging, affiliation, social comparison). Work activities and goals shared by the team members provide meaning and satisfy belongingness needs. Furthermore their research shows people have more fun and view work activities as more enjoyable when working in groups. Groups provide ‘social verification’. This is the idea that we use other people to objectively confirm our beliefs and ideas.

How do you create a winning team?

If you are business owner you talk about building the team or working as a team, but do you know how to develop an effective team? There are multiple dynamics at play when determining whether a team will be effective for example, does the team leader have credibility and the personality required to lead a group? There are two main factors that will determine if a team is successful:

1. The culture of the company
2. The autonomy by which the team is allowed to function

How do you create culture?

As a business owner, are you prepared to implement the decisions your team has created? It comes down to trust and faith, and your leadership style. You are largely responsible for creating the culture and values in your organization. Ultimately through direct and indirect contact, you set the tone not only for how employees do their jobs, but how they interact with each other, and ultimately with the customer. If you are one that puts faith in a team, your are likely to have better performing teams – pretty simple. If you need the final approval on everything, foster a strategy that provides employees empowerment in some other way.

Do your employees have authority?

Are you empowering the team leader? Set the overall direction of the company and step aside to let your employees get to the mark how they see fit. This doesn’t means you cannot offer your opinion and do course corrections – at the end of the day, it’s still your company. The most successful teams feel they have accomplished something and know that they have the authority to implement their decisions.

If you are a small business owner, each member of the team is so crucial. The old adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link is never truer than in a small business. Building a great team starts with hiring the right people – a subject we’ll save for another day. As a small business owner, trusting and having faith in your team is one skill you need to develop.

One of the values we believe in at dlvr.it is building a strong team that has autonomy to see things through.

Key Points

1. Teamwork accomplishes less work but produces happier employees. Happy employees = happy customers.
2. Have a clear stated goals for the team to accomplish
3. Provide your teams anatomy and authority to complete a task

Is teamwork central to your success? What do you think of the research? Is your corporate culture set-up for a team to succeed?

The post Is The Value of Teamwork Overrated? appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

While reading the online news this morning, an ad caught my eye from the Oregon Tourism Commission, Travel Oregon.  I’m a frequent traveler to our dlvr.it office in Portland and was intrigued.  I quickly decided to click since it appeared to be relevant to my recent blog post.

Surprisingly, I was impressed.  The site perfectly illustrates the opportunity tourism commissions have to create compelling content.

It’s packed with pictures, videos, guide books and more. The content seamlessly tells the story of Oregon. You might know Oregon for its great outdoors but what I found so perfectly fitting is Travel Oregon’s focus on the food. Portland has become the place to go for the best food in the United States. If you haven’t experienced the food scene in Portland, you are in for a treat. And the coffee!  But, I digress.

The site truly shows how Travel Oregon focuses on its customer personas. It covers an expansive breadth of interests from attractions, to recreation, to the wine scene, and more that would appeal to all types of visitors. It tells the story of Oregon through pictures and content. The brand gracefully extends into social media.

Participation is encouraged.  You can ask an Oregonian expert a question or tag your photos with #traveloregon and it may be included in their Instagram feed.

I would love to learn more about how the site came to be. Travel Oregon, care to share?

The post Travel Oregon, Tells It’s Brand Story Through Pictures appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

A few years ago before “Content Marketing” became the new black, I talked about a concept, “tell before you sell”.  At its core, the concept is about establising a trusted relationship with customers with compelling content (text, video, pictures) and stories.

Research from Adobe and Edelman Berland clearly proves my thesis of “tell before you sell.” Consumers prefer to experience a brand through stories told by that brand (a.k.a. Content Marketing).

The love of stories starts when we are young. My children’s favorite activity before bed is telling or reading stories. Sometimes we make them up. Other times we read from a book.  They pick a character from the story and say they are that character. They want to be part of the adventure and experience.

Marketing pundits from around the world are talking about content marketing or inbound marketing. Dlvr.it even created a conference on content marketing. Why are we all talking about content? We still have that little kid inside all of us. We want to be part of the experience. We want to feel something.

One of the greatest ‘sales people’ I know is my wife. What makes her a great ‘sales person’?  She tells stories.  Why do I use ‘sales person’ in quotes? She doesn’t sell. She is a story teller.  Unfortunately though, corporate America hasn’t yet embraced that title. Anyone who knows her will tell you how detailed her stories are – it’s like you were there experiencing it with her. She becomes instantly likeable from the first time you meet her. She is the same person at work as well as at home. Many of her longtime friends started out as clients. She doesn’t sell. She makes you feel comfortable through her stories and conversation.

The BIG take away: Stop selling. Tell a story. Tailor it to your audience.

What’s your opinion on the Adobe research? Did they get it right?

The post Research: Tell Before You Sell. A Story Is Worth A Thousand Sales appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

We need your support one more time. If you have been enjoying dlvr.it, please let the judges know and cast your vote for us by October 8th, 2012. We are going up against some big players including Ask.com, iParadigms, Livescribe and Navis.  Every vote counts!

The Innovator Awards are organized by 2.Oakland. The organization works to cultivate a healthy tech ecosystem for Oakland and the entire East Bay tech community. If you are interested in networking with the Oakland tech scene, order your tickets for the award ceremony October 18 from 5:30 – 8:30 PM at the Kaiser Rooftop Garden in Oakland, CA.

Remember to cast your vote for dlvr.it by Oct 8th because if we win, you win!

Thanks again from your friends at dlvr.it. We appreciate your support!

The post dlvr.it is a finalist for the Digital Technology Innovator Award – we need your vote appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

1. What can she do with social media?
2. Does she need it?
3. How much does it cost?

From Café Gabriela’s Yelp page , it is clear Penny and her business partner, Kristi Lambert, have created a winning and well-liked business.  They are committed to supporting local suppliers, coining the term “locally engaged” on print media and store front signage.  They make kick-ass sandwiches, fresh salads and serve local pastries, all highlighted on the sandwich board prominently displayed on the sidewalk outside.  The Oakland dlvr.it office can personally attest to incredible Blue Bottle coffee, organic mango ice tea and dry cappuccinos.   In a recent article on Downtown Oakland from the East Bay Express, Café Gabriela was mentioned as a:

“sunlit little sandwich shop that’s already gained a cult following for its mouthwateringly delicious pulled-pork sandwiches and super-friendly service”.

Great tag lines, friendly personalities, cult following, organic growth, and hard working civic minded individuals make up the team behind Café Gabriela.  So, where does social media fit into this mix?  Answer:  EVERYWHERE.

The three most important reasons why small businesses need to leverage social media are:

• To connect with customers,
• To increase visibility, and
• To aid in self promotion

Every referral, smile, handshake and flyer to Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter and beyond, are all an important part of the social media mix.  Consistency is the key. Small businesses do not have to spend much to get great results.  Zoomerang.com reports that a majority of small businesses surveyed spend less than $100 to market on social media channels.

Small independent hands-on business owners like Penny, need to carve out time to engage with their customers.  This may be the greatest challenge of all for a small business owner. Penny and Café Gabriela are on the right track.  However, due to time constraints, Penny is not able to update her Facebook page during the day.  The dlvr.it team discussed the use of the scheduled posting tool through dlvr.it.  This would allow Penny to post content to Facebook and Twitter on her own schedule after the dust settles from her busy day.  Dlvr.it just needs to know what days and times you want to post content, and it will be delivered right on time.  Timing is everything!

The Oakland dlvr.it team is always happy to sit down with local merchants and small business owners in our neighborhood to talk about your social media needs or better yet, just to chat and get to know each other!

The post Social Media and Oakland Small Business, Café Gabriela appeared first on dlvr.it | blog.

…16% of fans currently see organic content posted by brands: Most of it is weeded out by Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm, designed to enhance users’ experience by putting only the most relevant content in their news feeds. Using the paid ad tool could increase a brand’s exposure percentage to as high as 75%.

You’ve spent time and money building a following on Facebook. You did sweepstakes, Fan-gates and paid Facebook for new followers. You’ve built “it”, now they will come, right? Not so fast. Where you thinking those fans you just paid for were your own? Not exactly according to Facebook. You rent them. Want more of your content seen? With Facebook’s new engagement product, Reach Generator, you must pay to activate your fans. In a recent Advertising Age article, Cotton Delo interviews a few ad agency execs on the subject.

“Many [clients] have spent significant sums to generate these fan bases, and many of them thought of those people as though they’re an owned asset, almost like an email list … but now it looks like rented media,” said Craig Atkinson, chief digital officer at PHD USA. “I think there’s a moment of pause while they’re digesting what’s a pretty material change in the orientation of it.”

There is no doubt Facebook has a ton of prospect on it and setting up a place there makes sense. However, just remember,  Facebook can change the rules at anytime and they have demonstrated they will. So how should you approach Facebook if paying for more engagement is not an option?   How can you get more of your content read?

1. Post relevant content frequently. Create better content that solves a problem, saves a customer money or reduces pain – this will increase engagement and viral traffic.
2. Listen. Listen to what your customers want – look at the 16% of your content that gets read and write more of it – Simple right?
3. Interact. Posting content on Facebook starts the conversation. You must interact with fans to score higher with Facebook’s Edge Rank.
4. Create action based incentives. Look at Facebook as a means with the end getting customers over to your site where you encourage them to register, sign-up for a newsletter etc – any action you have 100% control over.

What do you think of Facebook’s Reach Generator to activate your audience?

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From udemy

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