SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AMONG U.S. COMPANIES

An Examination of How Social Media is Embedded in Business Strategy and Operations , a  survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest association devoted to human resource managment , reveals these  findings——

* Forty percent (40%) of employers have a formal social media usage policy.

*Fifty-six percent (56%) of these social media policies state that the company has the right to monitor social media usage.

*Sixty -eight percent  (68%) have a code of conduct for employee use of social networking for professional purposes.

*Sixty-six percent (66%) have a code of conduct  for employee use of social networking for personal purposes.

*Thirty-nine percent (39%) monitor employee social media use on company -owned computers and handheld devices.

*One-third of employers  (33%) with a social media policy have disciplined an employee who violated the social media policy in the past year.

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN U.S. COMPANIES

More than one-half (52%) use social media as part of their marketing strategies.

This survey was conducted in March 2012 among  a sample of the 250,000 members of the Society for Human Resource Management.

 

 

FINANCING FOR START-UPS

WHERE DO START-UPS GET FINANCING?

Personal savings is the source of start-up capital for 3 out of 5 surveyed for the Small Business Barometer sponsored by Western Union Payments. The majority of the people surveyed own businesses with fewer than 20 employees and less than $500,00 in revenues.

Sources of financing  include:

*Personal Savings    60%

*Personal Loan   17%

*Bank Loan  9%

*Borrowed from Family    8%

*SBA loan   2%

This survey was conducted in February 2012.

THE SIX RULES OF BUSINESS CARDS

A  business card is a  powerful marketing tool used to attract potential customers.  Used wisely, business cards can enhance your personal image   and present a perfect image of your company.

The six rules of successful business cards—-

#1.  SIMPLE IS BEST.  Do not order cards that take a great deal of time to produce.

#2.  KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.  No thick embossed cards if you sell to green companies.

#3.  INCLUDE THE ADDRESS.   This gives reassurance to customers that your business is real and you receive mail.

#4.  KEEP ONE SIDE BLANK.  This encourages people to take notes on your card and will probably  hold on to it longer.

#5.  TEXTURE & WEIGHT MATTER.  Too heavy, you are killing trees. Too light, you are cheap and not a real business.

#6.  NO GIMMICKS.  Not necessary and trivial.

Source.   Josh Spear is co-founder of Undercurent, a Internet digital strategy firm (2012).

DEFINING SUCCESS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

Aside

 WHAT IS SUCCESS TO A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER?

The most important measures of success for small business owners are:

*Earn enough to live comfortably    (24%)

*Do something I enjoy   (23%)

*Increase profitability annually   (18%)

*Pay employees enough to live comfortably   (17%)

*Have free time to do what I want   (7%)

*Pass the business to a family member   (6%)

*Sell the business for a big profit  (6%)

Source:  The Harftford Small Business Success Study, 2012