Twitter has been rapidly rising in popularity prompting many small business people to join in on the “tweeting” in hopes gaining new customers. Twitter is a micro blogging service that allows users to publish 140 character messages instantly much like a mass text message mixed with a blog post called “tweets”.

Twitter is often accused of being useless noise, it is estimated that roughly 40 percent of all  ”tweets” are just pointless ramblings. Twitter has shown some promise with its ability to disseminate information quickly to mass audiences. We have seen Twitter effectively utilized as a media and communication tool during disasters. The recent Haiti crisis further propelled Twitters legitimacy as a media tool as we saw everyday citizens share first hand news immediately.

So how can your small business utilize Twitter effectively in your marketing mix?

Web Site Integration: You can set up twitter to post your messages directly to a designated box or area on your companies web site. This can be a great feature allowing you to instantly post specials or news from wherever you area via phone or Internet with out requiring a CMS (content management system) on your web site. By publishing a quick special or offer you can effectively convert web site visitors to customers.

-See an example of how this site uses twitter to publish news and special offers to their home page

Networking: Twitter can be an effective networking tool if used properly. Twitter combines the direct personalization of a text message combined with the ability to mass send. Twitter can be a great way to communicate and network with people in and around your industry. The direct message feature is crucial in this process. You can also use twitter to update social networking statuses on Facebook and LinkedIn. If you are networking consider joining in on conversations and do not be afraid to have non-product related messages, showing that you are human can help you better connect.

Prospecting and Lead Generation: You can effectively search for and target users who could potentially be in the need of your services. By following users and using the direct message feature you can pitch your product or service. Inbound followers can also be a part of your lead generation strategy.

Brand Monitoring: Sign up for an account and listen for mentions of your name, product, service, competitors name, and words that relate to your space or business niche. Listening to what is being said in your industry, what consumers and users are saying and how your brand is being transmitted by its carriers is a vital process in ensuring proper brand communication and protecting the integrity of your name. Twitter also makes a great opinion gathering and polling platform that can be great for new product launches and idea gathering.

Information Dissemination: Twitter is one of the fastest ways to rapidly broadcast information, With twitter “retweet” features your message can circulate through numerous channels rapidly. If you have important news, information, articles, or blog posts twitter is a great way to attract readers to your message.

Emergency correspondence: In the instance of a disaster phone service generally gets temporarily blocked. Twitter is an effective tool to communicate during disasters. You can integrate twitter into your offices disaster and earthquake preparedness plan.

Trade Shows: For many small business trade shows represent a large portion if not nearly all of their marketing budget. Because of this reliance on trade shows for sales it is critical to maximize your time and activity at trade shows. Twitter can be effectivly used to track prospects and important clients activity and whereabouts so that you can connect with them or “tweetup”. You can also use Twitter to broadcast your activities and events to attract more visitors to your booth or demonstration.

All this being said there really is not a generic strategy for working Twitter into your marketing mix and business functions. By assessing your companies goals, positioning and brand while working with a social media marketing professional you can come up with effective ways to utilize this tool to help your small business grow.

Like all marketing activities it is important to monitor your activity and results. Here at Zella we utilize a free web based tool called HootSuite to manage all of our Twitter accounts. HootSuite helps us manage all of our Twitter accounts as well as clients Twitter accounts in one application. By managing multiple accounts on one dashboard we can effectively stream line Twitter use. Many of the built in applications can help businesses better mange their Twitter accounts. You can schedule tweets in advance, if you are reading an interesting article online you can immediately tweet it. If you blog you can set twitter to automatically tweet your blog posts.

The built in tracking feature allows you to monitor how many people have clicked on links contained in your tweets. HootSuite is also an effective tool for brand management all you need to do is set key terms you want to monitor in Twitter for example “Zella Design” and any time some one mentions your company it will show up on your dashboard. You can monitor positive and negative feedback and with a simple click you can get involved in brand conversations by directly messaging Twitter users.

This application also integrates with LinkedIn and Facebook so you can use it as a total business social media management tool.

Tags: Twitter.

Recently you might have noticed that some of the sponsored results on Google searches feature a small strip showing Yelp reviews on sponsored link ads. This appears to be a new feature that Google is testing out on some AdWords ads.

Users are given the option of clicking the regular ad that directs the user to the advertisers web site or they can click the Yelp link that directs the user to the advertisers Yelp page. If the user clicks the Yelp link the advertisers is not charged for the click-through.

This is most likely a Google experiment that is close related to Googles current desire to acquire Yelp. Google has been pushing to develop their own local map feature with stronger ratings and information that rivals Yelps network. We will see if Google continues this practice and makes it a permanent feature in returned sponsored links.

Users currently don’t have any control over when or how their ad shows Yelp reviews or if they even show reviews at all. Google chooses at their own desecration to integrate Yelp reviews with ads on a semi random basis. From my observation Google will only show Yelp reviews in your advertisement if your business has a critical mass of 5 star ratings or ratings in general.

We will see if Google continues the practice encouraging more Google advertisers to build their Yelp reviews so that their Google Ads are more attractive. This will be an interesting new addition to advertising optimization on the Google ad network.

Google Search Showing Yelp Reviews in Sponsored Results

Tags: Google, Sponsored Links, Yelp.

Today I was returning home from a client meeting when my girlfriend called and asked if I could pick her up some frozen yogurt on my way home. She had just had her wisdom teeth pulled so she was craving a cold and soft treat.

Not being familiar with the immediate area I decide to pull out my new Google Android phone and utilize the built in map search feature. I found the closest frozen yogurt shop on the map and traveled over there.

Later I found out that there was a Yogurtland shop 2 miles from my location I had driven 7 miles out of my way to visit the yogurt shop I found using the Google local map search. Yogurtlands failure to list their location on Google resulted in them missing out my sale.

The point is that in our search based society empowered by the blossoming of mobile technology it has become paramount to establish your business on local search maps. Small businesses cannot afford to forgo customers who are in their direct proximity as in the example of the yogurt shop.

Currently the Google Map reigns supreme and the listing process is relatively painless.

Go online today and see if your business is listed on the local search map in the appropriate category. If your business is present use the claim your listing feature to verify the listing and add additional information. If your business is not present follow the steps below to get your business location online.

- 1. Visit google.com/lbc Create a Google account if you don’t have one, or sign in with your account.

- 2. Enter information about your business, including address & phone, hours & more: You can even add photos of your business and coupons.

- 3. Verify that you own or run the business: Follow the instructions and enter a PIN code when you receive it, to complete the process.

- 4. Now you’re all set. You can log in daily to see how your business listing performs on Google, including how many times people found it, and what actions they took.

To get started today, visit the Local Business Center.

Tags: Google Maps, Local Business Listing.

As a kid like many young boys I grew up complete obsessed with and immersed in sports.

When you are child you play for the excitement and you revel in the accolades but little thought goes into the life lessons that are pounded into our young minds on the field of competition.

Sports and business philosophies are so closely tied that the vernacular is seamlessly interchangeable. Every corporate boardroom is filled with sports cliché and huddle up speeches. Every aspect of sports can become a situational metaphor for business situation and strategy.

Here are two things my coaches pounded into my subconscious that have helped me in my business life.

“keep your feet moving”

This was a common thread that I have heard from many of my coaches.  No mater what the situation is this mantra of momentum can help us all push through. As a hockey player I was always a bit undersized but my coach would repeat this mantra to me “keep your feet moving” by doing this I was able to out work and win over my larger opponents.

He would always say when the puck goes into the corner and you end up in a fight for the puck just keep your legs pumping. When you are up against the boards and you are in a scramble for the puck it is important to not dig in and push. Rather get low and keep your feet moving.

By keeping your momentum up and driving through your base you can out work even larger and stronger opponents. But if you dig in hunker up and just push you become static predictable and week and you will ultimately lose the battle.

This is an important reminder to every entrepreneur because day in and day out with a small business you find your self up against the boards fighting for a loose puck. In theses tough economic times business are continually fighting for fewer customers against larger and stronger players but if you keep the wheels turning and you stay focused on the object ahead you can drive through.

So remember when it gets tough don’t hunker up, close your eyes and push. Instead get low, keep your head up and drive your legs. “Keep those feet moving” and if you are looking forward that is where you will end up

“Highest hips win”

When I wrestled we had this whacky old coach that every time you went to the mat he would yell in cattle call reminiscent tone “hips, hips”

Our coach would always say when ever you where in a scramble on the matt the wrestler with the highest hips would win. So every time we where in the down position or we where trying to escape he would start yelling “hips, hips”

In business when you are in a scramble work towards driving your business core up. Don’t rely on a periphery function an arm or a leg, rather leverage the core of your business and the rest of your business functions will follow rapidly. If you can get your core elevated quicker than your competitors you will win out over the competition.

Tags: Highest Hips Win, Keep Your Feet Moving, Sports in Business.

Google the powerhouse of intenet search has slipped slightly in market share since the launch of Microsoft Corp.’s rejuvenated Internet search engine Bing.

Microsoft has been heavily marketing Bing in hopes of reviving their search engine. Based on recent search volume reports from Hitwise, Microsoft’s efforts have been meet with moderate success helping to increase Bing’s share of the U.S. search market to 9.5% in August from 8% in the prior month, as Google and Yahoo saw their respective search volume shares weaken.

If we look at charts of search market share before Microsoft unveiled Bing in May we can see that Google was controlling a dominant portion of searches accounting for nearly 73% of all searches. Since the launch of Bing, Google has fallen slightly to 70.46% as of September.

Yahoo has remained fairly steady while the small player ask.com has seen its market share cut in half, they now account for a slim 2.5% of searches.

For small businesses and search marketers this is just a small reminder to not ignore smaller search engines Bing and Yahoo in your search optimization efforts.

Bing and Yahoo both have loyal followings so it is important for site owners and marketers to not ignore theses search engines. Make sure Yahoo and Bing index your site if it is not be sure to submit your site to the search feature as well as the local listing center. A favorable ranking on theses sites can still deliver steady targeted traffic

If Bing the “Decision Engine” campaign takes off we could see continual growth in search volume performed on this search engine. Bing’s search algorithm is not as good as Google’s in my opinion when it comes to providing relevant results but I am sure they are continually improving this issue and with their cool new UI they cold see growth as consumers give Bing a try. Keep your eye on the horizon as Yahoo and Bing push for a modest level of parity in the market place.

Tags: ask.com, Bing, Google, Search Market Share, Yahoo.

Backing up your files is something we are all told to do but often times it is a task that falls by the way side. I know I have been guilt of failing to back up my data a time or two.

Generally we just expect our important documents to always be available and we silently hope and pray that our computer never crashes. But inevitably there come a time when malfunction or user error results in the loss of your valuable information.

Well just last week my laptop took an unexpected dive stranding many important documents. Well as you can imagine I freaked out and quickly strutted down to the local apple genius lab but they where unable to help. In an effort to keep the hope of getting my information back  alive I searched for some local data recover experts but their prices where extortionate, ranging from $600 to $1,000 dollars. Fortunately I found Simon Partridge at Data Recover Man who was able to restore my data in minutes for a fraction of the cost quoted by other companies.

To help safe guard you and your company from data loss I would suggest implementing the following procedures.

1). Back up all of your information weekly at a minimum using an external hard drive. External hard drives are becoming increasingly affordable allowing users to get 250+ gigabytes for under $100 dollars.

2). Utilize online data storage. There are a lot of good web based data storage companies that allow you to effortlessly back up your computers files.  Online data storage gives you flexibility to access your files remotely and protect you from misplaced or lost external hard drives.

Online Data Store Resources:

Mozy:  You can get 2gb free storage including unlimited file size/bandwidth. For business users you can upgrade to a low cost pro accounts for under $5/month.

Box.net:  Offers 1gb free including collaboration folders, mobile access and public file sharing making it a handy business tool as well as a storage service.

Tags: Data Recovery, Hard Drive, Online Storage.

Today Google’s Gmail service was down for at least half an hour leaving thousands of Gmail users high and dry. The extended down time only effected a portion of Gmail users but quickly Twitter feeds were filled with chat about Google’s down time.

Perhaps we put to much faith in Google’s services. Most of Google’s services are web based so users interact with the program on Google’s servers via the internet, rather than running the program from your host computer. This forces Google to continually maintain their server uptimes so services are available to consumers and customers, interruption free.

Most popular hosting services, including Google, boast of reliability, advertising 99.9% server uptimes. At first look this sounds like a very high uptime and makes the hosting service appear very reliable but upon a quick analysis we find that there are 43,200 minutes in a 30-day month, so with 99.9 % up time we are left with roughly 43 minutes of server down time.

When you quantify this claim your server suddenly doesn’t seem as reliable.  We might not feel like 40 minutes is very long but when you are running a business and you rely solely on a web based application you can encounter problems if there is any unexpected server down time.

To help protect yourself and your business from errors and server down time in Google’s applications there are a few simple precautions you can implement that safe guard you against program malfunction and server problems.

My initial recommendation is to set up POP or IMAP forwarding to an email client like Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird. This will ensure that if the web application is down the POP/IMAP feed will be sent to your mail client. For example during Google’s most recent down time the POP/IMAP feed was still running.

Web based applications are not infallible and they are subject to downtimes. Google has many business tools that have become engrained with many business core functions and down time can result in problems. If you rely on these applications having a backup plan can save you and your organization from future embarrassment.

Tags: Google, Server Up Time, Web Applications.

Computers continue to get faster and more efficient and as broadband connections increase data transfer rates web applications continue to improve. However I have noticed that many PC users still are using old, outdated versions of Internet Explorer. In fact, a recent survey shows that roughly 20% of internet users are still using Internet Explorer Version 6 which was released in 2001. As a web design service, we are constantly designing sites and testing them across the entire spectrum of web browsers to ensure constant deliverability, navigation and presentation to all visitors, regardless of what internet browser they might be using.

My biggest qualm rises from the use of Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7. Neither browser is entirely compliant with open web standards. Internet Explorer is continually troublesome to design sites for. The browser is slow, cumbersome and filled with display errors. Despite this, design professionals continue to tolerate the browsers’ limitations and spend their time modifying site elements and creating workarounds to ensure consistent presentations on this format. Ultimately, these older browser versions limit the future of web design.

Here at Zella Design, standards based design is a primary focus and we will continue to provide consistent content across all browser platforms. But with so many great free web browsers on the internet, it’s probably time for you to get a worthwhile upgrade. Let’s all ditch the tired browsers of old and move towards web browsers that actually perform their intended task with a clean sophisticated look.

Here are our picks for the best 5 web browsers available for free on the windows platform:

Firefox 3.5 | Best all around

Firefox is a great choice for all around performance and flexibility. This browser has a very similar layout to Internet Explore making for a easy transition to a new browser. Firefox is a relativity stable and secure platform that has fast rendering and javascript support to enhance view-ability on modern web sites.  The great thing about this browser is that it has tons of add-ons that allow users to customize the browser to their preferences. Overall this is our top recommendation for a solid web browser that is easy on your system resources and easy on the eyes.
download Firefox

Google Chrome | Top pick for surfing

Once again, Google has provided a great user focused web application and with it a good looking interface. Google Chrome might take a bit of getting used to for many Internet Explorer users but the transition would be well worth it. This browser has a sleek, stripped down playful look that is very similar to Apple’s Safari browser. This browser has super fast rendering and is perfectly equipped to display modern javascript heavy web sites. The best features are the tab and visual features coupled with private browsing and a great crash recover system. After a crash Chrome will restore all of your open windows and tabs. This browser is a bit of a draw on your system resources so if you have a slower CPU consider alternative options.
download google chrome

Flock 2 (beta) | Top pick for social media

This web browser is based on the Mozilla Firefox browser so it has similar usability and looks. This browser has a smooth feel that is perfect for the internet junkie. This browser is designed as the perfect compliment to your heavy social media use. I have just started using Flock to manage many of our social media applications. Flock has built in support for Facebook, Twitter and Flicker. It also include RSS feeds, a blog editor and customizable side bars that are well suited for multitasking. This is not the best site to view web pages on but if you are social media crazy you just might have found match.
download Flock

Opera v10 | Best for older computers

Often dubbed the best browser that no one is using, Opera is a bit of a hidden gem. Despite this browsers lack of popularity it is a really great browser that is heavy on internet standards and compliance which makes it a great web site display browser. Opera is a very lean system that does not tax your computers resources so if you are running a older system this is your best bet for a browser that won’t bog down your CPU or crash your system.
download Opera

Internet Explorer 8 | Best Familiarity

If you don’t like change and have been using Internet Explorer for a decade now, upgrading to Internet Explorer 8 is a great idea. The new improved Internet Explorer is more compliance based than older IE versions and it has a sleeker interface to go along with it. The system has good privacy options and security but it lags behind other browsers in features, flexibility and dependability.
download Internet Explorer

Tags: Firefox, Flock, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera.

If you’re a solo musician or band wondering how to get your music out, SoundCloud is one of the answers. I say ‘one’ because there are a lot of ways to help distribute and broaden your music audience. However, this does not mean that just because you think your music is the next best (add in favorite band), does not mean that record labels will automatically hone in on your music. Record labels, especially the mainstream ones (Warner Bros., BMG, EMI, etc.), will want to know how well you will sell. This will include not only your music, but your style that you portray as a whole. If this does not concern you, then read on.

First and foremost, SoundCloud is an online music community where you can upload music that you have created. The really cool aspect of this is that your files can be uploaded in any format (mp3, wav, flac, etc.). You can also download other people’s music as well, an option MySpace is lacking on its music network. The reason why it’s called a ‘music community’ is because you post your music so other wandering musicians can find it, and have a fanbase starting up for you. This is how record labels will get more interested in you. Once you start having your own fanbase and start playing at more venues, then they will eventually come to understand you as a determined musician who wants your sound out.

Not everything on the website is free, however. For starting members, you get to upload 5 songs per month. If you start paying for a ‘pro’ membership, you get access to more features and you get to upload more songs.

What I like about the website as a whole is how clean everything is. It’s what SoundCloud is to music as Facebook is to social networking. Many artists use MySpace nowadays to help promote their work, but if you’re like me, and I hate MySpace for its ugly interface and busy layout, then you should try out SoundCloud. This is not to say that you shouldn’t use MySpace at all, though. In order to put your name out there, MySpace is one of the bigger networks to do so. SoundCloud can be a supplement to that if you already have one. The website went public in October 2008, so be one of the first musicians to utilize this amazing website.

Check out my profile and give my music a listen. Comments would be helpful.

Stephen Chang

Tags: SoundCloud.

Zella Design was on the California Soul podcast this week! Check it out

It was a real blast hanging out with the creative minds of Big Old Morongo Canyon. I had a great time and they even let me play a song. I am just going to warn you now I am not much of a singer, but never the less I love to sing and play the guitar.

I would like to thank the gang up there: Steve Preston you have a real cool show. and a special thank you to Joey, Shelley, Ryan, and Casey for having me on the show.

I look forward to working with you all in the future.

Ian Cush

Tags: California Soul, Podcast, Radio Show.