Businesses use social networking sites to be smarter in business

WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- If you're a small business owner, you know how tough it can be to run your business, especially in tough economic times.

"The way the economy was heading in the beginning of the year, people were nervous, I think, a little bit about what it was going to do to their small businesses," said Nellie Mathous, Chamber of Commerce Events Director.

The seminars at Monday's Business Fair talked about ways to make your business smarter and more efficient. And the smartest...listen to their customers and the technologies they're using.

"It's not so much pushing your message out, but paying attention to the way the customer likes to communicate and using those modes of communication," said Karen Delmonico, Chamber of Commerce President.

Those at the business fair say the most important thing to take away is learning how to use social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to enhance your business.

"They build the buzz. They build the awareness about a business and what's going on with them. They're a way to get your name out there, and that's part of the best marketing you can do," said Jennifer King MacKenzie, Keegan Associates Executive Vice President.

"It's instant information. It's ideas. It's sharing. It's networking. It's business to business. It's even community involvement," said Mathous.

Besides using social networking sites, business owners should often check and update their websites.

"Having a website that someone can really engage in and get what they need in a quick fashion is very advantageous," said Darcy Norfolk, Ad Workshop Inphorm General Manager.

Those at the business fair say social networking is quickly becoming the norm. And learning to use the websites is a necessity.

Source: http://news10now.com/

IT'S YOUR BUSINESS: Business news releases Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Have you purchased your ticket to the 15th annual Business to Business Expo on Thursday, June 11? If you are looking for any kind of service or product or just want to be more involved in the community the Expo is the event to attend. It goes from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Three Oaks Banquiet Center in Estero.

Tickets to attend are $15 in advance per person and $20 at the door.

Advance registration ends tonight at midnight.

For reservations, visit bonitaspringschamber.com or call the chamber at 992-2943.

- Contributed by Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce

Source: http://www.marconews.com/

Hallam’s Wish for B2B sales

In three short years, Wish Communications has emerged as one of Yes Telecom’s leading dealer partners. Founder Mike Hallam discusses the changing dealer market

Northamptonshire-based Wish Communications has been in business only three years and already it boasts one of biggest customer bases among Yes Telecom dealers. From nothing in 2006, it is shortly to report annual turnover of more than £6 million.

Wish was set up by managing director Mike Hallam, operations director Simon Pickering and sales director Phil Butts. Their intention was to sign new business customers to all five networks, and take the joyous upfront loot. But 2006 was really the tail end of the dealer gold rush, as the market got saturated, networks looked to change their sales processes and mobile technology finally advanced beyond voice.

However, the trio, all veterans of The Caudwell Group’s old 4U business sales operation, also noted the shifting tectonic plates in the industry early. Speculation around networks moving away from upfront commissions and towards ongoing revenue share models was rife.

Vodafone has just bought up Manchester service provider Yes Telecom, and looked to be drawing its allies close. In November 2007, Wish set down deliberate allegiances with certain network suppliers. It retains indirect dealer codes with all five, it claims, but chooses to connect all its business with Orange and Vodafone, via Mainline and Yes Telecom respectively.

The latter accounts for 80 per cent of its base – around 12,500 connections, including 8,000 last year alone.

Hallam explains: “We set out to be all things to all men, by appeasing all networks and chasing the riches of commissions. The industry has now changed and we are seeing more alliances formed through ongoing revenue. The way the networks steered the market as a whole lead to us to make some strategic alliances of our own.

“The reality was, before, dealers weren’t interested in the longevity and the sustainability of the customer. They were more interested in how many customers they could acquire in a month. I would be amazed if any dealership is left feeding four or five networks in the next 18 months. Most B2B dealers will align themselves with two networks. Yes Telecom and Mainline, or Vodafone and Orange, are our preferred partners; wrongly or rightly, only time will tell.”

Source: http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/

B2B Publishing Industry Luminary and Bizo Advisor Bill Furlong Joins Company to Run Business Development and Partnership Strategy

June 10, 2009 -- Bizo, Inc. the leading B2B audience targeting platform and advertising network, announced today that advisor Bill Furlong, the president and founder of SearchChannel and B2BWorks, and former managing director of Crain's BtoB Magazine, has joined the company full time as its VP of business development to build out Bizo's partnership strategies and focus on forging successful B2B industry partnerships.

Furlong has served on the IAB board of directors for two terms and founded and led B2BWorks, the first major B2B online advertising network. He is a frequent speaker at the Business Marketing Association, Direct Marketers Association and American Business Media, where he is a member of the Digital Media Council. Furlong has also been named to BtoB's Who's Who and Crain's Chicago Top Internet 100 list.

"I joined Bizo as an advisor four months ago, and after spending time with the company, I realized that this opportunity is just too exciting to stay on the sidelines as an advisor," said Furlong, "I care deeply about ensuring that B2B publishers and marketers are effective in their transition to digital and Bizo's approach to market gives them an unprecedented opportunity to monetize their online audiences."

"Bill is a triple-rare combination in the B2B information industry," said Chuck Richard, VP and Lead Analyst, Outsell Inc., a leading analyst firm for the information publishing industry. "One, he is locked in on an unwavering vision of where marketing is headed. Two, he brings sleeves-rolled-up, hands-on entrepreneurial experience running companies. And three, Bill has decades-strong roots in the traditions, realities and peculiarities of the industry."

"Bill joining Bizo to run business development gives us a superstar to ensure successful partnerships," said Russell Glass, CEO and founder of Bizo, "He is an industry leader and recognized expert in B2B digital media - having him help us guide Bizo to long-term success is a huge win for us, our customers and our partners. "

Furlong will remain the chairman of the board of directors of Search Channel.

In a separate release today, Bizo released a number of its growth and customer metrics including its B2B publisher earnings average of $3.65 CPM, more than 100% above the industry average.

Source: http://www.prweb.com/

Beamups Launches Online News Marketplace For UK

The online news marketplace Beamups launches a UK version today, hoping to exploit the dire of state of the news industry by allowing producers to sell on unused and archive content. The site launched a beta for the Middle East in April and set up deals with broadcasters including the BBC, al Jazeera, ABC and Rtvi. For them, it’s an opportunity to make extra money from unused footage, while buyers get one source of global, professional material.

Beamups’ spokeswoman told me this is essentially a business-to-business service, and though they expect that some citizen journalism to make it onto the site it isn’t trying to do the same as sites Demotix, which focus very much on the amateur consumer market. Content is sold with a 40 percent commission to Beamups (fairly standard for B2B news content) and the seller decides the price. Terms can be for one-off use by multiple organisations or exclusively. Sellers get their own store and build up ratings much like eBay (NSDQ: EBAY) and don’t have to pay a subscription to join.

Beamups is fronted by former News Corp (NYSE: NWS) Europe senior vice president Dean Stewart, and was founded by two documentary cameramen, Boaz Eshtai and Yosi Romano - who grew tired of always having to hand over the rights to their work for the BBC, APTN, the Discovery (NSDQ: DISAB) Channel and National Geographic. Their most widely distributed work wouldn’t make them a proportionate amount of money, while some of their best work would sometimes not find a suitable slot at all.

“As freelance budgets and crew sizes are shrinking, we wanted to open up the news market to offer an international distribution model that gives professional journalists precious access to newsrooms around the world,” said Eshtai.

Source: http://www.paidcontent.co.uk