This is my baby…Facebook!

Here’s a trivia question to pull out at your next cocktail party, “Which website generates the most traffic?”  Unless you’re chatting with a social media fiend, your friend will most likely guess Google.  Wrong.  Facebook not only generates more traffic than Google, but accounts for 50% of the mobile internet traffic in the UK.  If you’re unsure of the effect social media has on your business, Erik Qualman will convince you with his mind-blowing video.  Of all the astounding facts Qualman shares in the video and on his website these are our favorites:

• If Facebook was a country it would be the 3^rd largest nation in the World.  Hmm wonder what the national anthem would be?
• How long have you been reading this blog, 1 minute?  Well, in the past 1 minute 60 people joined LinkedIn.
• There must be a lot of smart shoppers out there because Groupon will reach $1 billion in sales in less time than any company before it.
• Don’t even try to read everything on Wikipedia.  If Wikipedia was a book it would take you 123 years to read the whole thing.
• Looking for baby names?  In Egypt newborns have been named “Facebook.”
• If you’re not worried about monitoring what social media users say about your business, you might be in big trouble.  90% of people trust their peers for recommendations (compared to 14% of people who trust paid advertising.)
• You may have seen in commercials that 1 out of 5 relationships begins online, but Facebook is blamed for 1 out of 5 divorces.

If you haven’t jumped on the social media bandwagon yet, it’s past time to join the 93% of marketers using it.  Qualman will convince you that social media is a tool that can make or break your business.  So update that Facebook page, tweet at your followers, and maybe be the first to name your child LinkedIn!

Serial Entrepreneurs – Too Many Ideas to Settle on One

Entrepreneurs can be seen on a bell curve.  Many entrepreneurs conceive one idea and devote all of their time and effort to this single venture.  Other entrepreneurs undertake a couple of business endeavors over their career.  Then there are serial entrepreneurs.  Serial entrepreneurs are the rare individuals who originate a wealth of pursuits and seem to jump from one business to another.

There are positive and negative aspects to being a serial entrepreneur.  Of course some people are brimming with brilliant money making ideas.  They may find they are able to make more money from involvement in multiple businesses than they would earn from engagement with one.  These individuals often need an outlet for their creativity as well and are only content when occupied with several projects.

Although being a serial entrepreneur can be financially rewarding and intellectually stimulating, the work of a serial entrepreneur can also be challenging and disappointing.  If you decide to launch more than one business make sure not to neglect any of your ventures.  Being a serial entrepreneur is time and attention consuming. Although it is often helpful to appropriate to others your responsibilities at different businesses, be aware of the involvement each project still needs.  In addition, know when it is the correct time to shut down a business.  Understand that many small businesses need a couple of years to get on their feet and take off, but don’t let your time and resources be drained by a pursuit that will never be lucrative.

Do you frequently find yourself brainstorming new and exciting business ideas?  You may have what it takes to be a serial entrepreneur.  With enough creativity, perseverance and luck you can start more than just one of your dream businesses.

Surviving Black Friday

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for employers and customers alike.

Black Friday deals can make or break your fiscal year. The Friday after Thanksgiving officially kicks off the holiday shopping season and to herald the time of spending, many major retailers offer deals not available any other time of year.

Here’s some advice on how to survive Black Friday:

1. Buy on the Internet

Probably the best way to deal with Black Friday is to stay home. Avoid the crowd, the rush, the tug-of-war with that woman who didn’t shower this morning…you might be able to get the same deal online without rising out of your turkey-induced coma.

2. Preparation

Assuming that you can’t get your deal online or something is just too good to pass up, prepare for the rush. I’m not talking just mentally. Some deals are time sensitive. You might need to be somewhere between 10 am and 11 am just to get that 60″ HDTV. Make sure you know where. Also, if you don’t want to look like an amateur, know when the stores open and close so you can plan accordingly.

3. Know your deals

To ensure you’ll be getting an actual bargain rather than a ho-hum or too-high price, visit Web sites such as BizRate.com, Shopping.com andPriceGrabber.com as you’re doing your research to get a sense of how much items should cost.

4. Make a list

Again, without a list, this is amateur hour. If you go out on Black Friday “just browsing”, you’re crazier than I thought.

5. Bring a buddy

You need somebody who’s got your back. A Goose to your Maverick. When things get crazy (and they will), you don’t want back-up that will flake out, start bickering, or whine about the crowds. You need a support system. Choose wisely.

Good luck out there.

Lowering your insurance costs

Last week, we posted on how to write a household budget. One of our pieces of advice was to determine where you could make cutbacks.

A big place to make cutbacks is on your insurance costs. How?

1. Shop around.

Prices vary from company to company, that’s not just a they use in their ads.  You should get at least three price quotes. If one company is comparing the costs for you, make sure they are comparing comparable coverage.

2. Get a higher deductible

Deductibles are what comes out of your pocket before the insurance kicks in. You can lower costs with a higher deductible, but keep in mind, the higher deductible may come back to haunt you if you get into an accident. Or, it might make you a better driver.

3. Bundle your insurance

Many insurance companies cater to several markets. If you buy homeowners insurance from the same company as your car insurance,  you can usually get a break. Also, if you insure multiple cars or vehicles, the company will offer a discount.

4. Seek out discounts

Many insurers offer a wide array of discounts, including no accident discounts, good student discounts, or a discount for a defensive driving course. See if your insurer has any of these and take advantage of it.

 

Slogan Week: Just Do It

Oh, the last day of Slogan Week. What did I choose? What could possibly be any better than “Where’s the beef?”

If you read the title, it’s quite obvious.

Nike has done wonders with simplicity. Their logo is a check mark. The Swoosh was first used by Nike in June 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. At the time, Nike was known as Blue Ribbon Sports.

Nike is the name of the Greek goddess of victory. Originally, it was used as the name of the shoe line. In 1978, Blue Ribbon Sports switched its name to Nike.

Ready for the slogan? Gary Gilmore, the notorious spree-killer, uttered the words “Let’s do it” just before a firing squad executed him in Utah in 1977. Years later, the phrase became the inspiration for Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.

Dan Wieden, who first realized that a slight tweaking of Mr. Gilmore’s last words might make a good slogan for athletic gear, said the resonance of “Just Do It” was completely inadvertent and unforeseen.

The slogan was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20^th century, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. How’s that for a successful slogan?

Why does it work?

Admittedly, “Just Do It” does not describe the product. It’s a classed-up version of “Get’r done”.

It’s success is in its simplicity. “Do it” is too short. “Just do it” is perfect. From a sports perspective, it seems something a trainer would say to an athlete, or something a coach would say to his team when their down by ten with three minutes on the clock.

For more information on “Just Do It” and the birth of other slogans, check out this article.

What does it take to write a great slogan? Some creativity, some words, and a whole lot of luck.

Slogan Week: Where’s the beef?

“Where’s the beef?” first appeared in a Wendy’s commercial in 1984.

In the ad, titled “Fluffy Bun”, actress Clara Peller receives a burger with a massive bun from a fictional competitor which uses the slogan “Home of the Big Bun”. The small patty prompts Peller to angrily exclaim, “Where’s the beef?” The catch phrase was repeated in television shows, films, magazines, and other media outlets.

This slogan works because it had unintended consequences.

The phrase became associated with the 1984 U.S. presidential election. During primaries in the spring of 1984, when the commercial was at its height of popularity,Democratic candidate and former Vice President Walter Mondale ridiculed the candidacy of his rival, Senator Gary Hart, by using the phrase during a March 11, 1984 televised debate prior to the New York and Pennsylvania primaries.

Hart had moved his candidacy from dark horse to the lead over Mondale based on his repeated use of the phrase “new ideas”. When Hart once again used the slogan in the debate, Mondale leaned forward and said, “When I hear your new ideas, I’m reminded of that ad, ‘Where’s the beef?’”. Subsequently, the two campaigns continually clashed using the two dueling slogans.

Good luck getting your slogan used by presidential candidates during a debate.

 

Slogan Week: M & M’s

They melt in your mouth,  not in your hand.

While not the first candy coated chocolate, M&Ms are the most popular. Forrest Mars, Sr. founder of the Mars Company, got the idea for the confection in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate surrounding the inside, preventing the candies from melting.

One M was for Forrest E. Mars Sr., and one for William F. R. Murrie, President of Hershey’s Chocolate. Murrie had 20 percent interest in the product. During the War the candies were exclusively sold to the military. In 1948, the cardboard packaging was replaced by the black cellophane packaging. In the same year Mars bought out Murrie’s 20 percent stake.

In 1954, M&Ms Peanut Chocolate Candies were introduced. That same year, the M&Ms brand characters and the famous slogan “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand” were both trademarked.

Why does it work?

The slogan tells you exactly what it does. The intention of the product was to keep the chocolate inside from melting before you could eat it. And, it does.

Think of it as a sort of campaign promise.

Slogan Week: Breakfast of Champions

Wheaties was created in 1922, as a result of an accidental spill of a wheat bran mixture onto a hot stove by a Minnesota clinician working for the Washburn Crosby Company, which became General Mills.

Not only does Wheaties have one of our favorite slogans, it also wins the longevity award. Wheaties began its association with sports in 1927, through advertising on the southern wall of minor league baseball’s Nicollet Park in Minneapolis,Minnesota. In the contract, Wheaties sponsored the radio broadcasts of the minor league baseball team, Minneapolis Millers, on radio station WCCO and Wheaties was provided with a large billboard in the park to use to introduce new slogans. The first such slogan on the new signboard was penned by Knox Reeves, of a Minneapolis advertising agency. When asked what should be placed on the sign for Wheaties, Reeves sketched a Wheaties box on a pad of paper, thought for a moment, and wrote “Wheaties-The Breakfast of Champions”.

Through the ’30′s, Wheaties continued to sponsor baseball broadcasts with nearly one hundred stations carrying a Wheaties sponsored broadcast by the end of the decade. Click here for a list of athletes that appeared on the Wheaties box.

Why does it work?

Wheaties found a gimmick and stuck with it. For almost a hundred years now.

Is it accurate?

Well, maybe not, but considering all the athlete support they have had over the years, I think we can give them the benefit of the doubt.

Slogan Week: Think Different

This week, Biz Television takes a look at its favorite slogans.

A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose.

Slogans play an important role in advertising. They linger in one’s mind even when the advertisement is long gone. A slogan needs to stick in your head even when the ad is gone.

Today’s slogan: Think different (Apple)

A play on the IBM “Think” slogan, “Think different” was created for Apple Computer in 1997 by the Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. It was used in a famous commercial, several print advertisements and a number of TV promos for Apple products. Apple’s use of the slogan was discontinued with the start of the Apple Switch ad campaign in 2002.

What makes it such a great slogan? While Apple seems to be the definition of trendy, in 1997 it wasn’t. Before the iPhone, before the iPod, Apple was the other guy. PC’s and Microsoft dominated the market. The “Think different” slogan was a layered message.

First, explore your originality, don’t submit to conformity. The Apple posters showed great thinkers and unique personalities to portray their message.

Second, and most important, think of a different kind of computer.

Two words make an amazing slogan and “Think different” is the shortest slogan on our list.

Writing a Household Budget

Do you know where your money is going?

These days, it feels like there isn’t enough money to go around. One way to keep track of your finances (and maybe save a little green) is to create a household budget.

1.  List your fixed costs.

Fixed costs include mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance, food, car payments and maintenance. These are the things that aren’t going to go away and tend to be the same every month. Think you’ve got everything down? Did you add in the dog food and the kitty litter?

2. Add some savings to your fixed costs.

Set aside a bit of money each month for your savings. Go ahead and call this a fixed cost. You will get used to setting aside a little extra. You may be surprised at how quickly it grows.

3. Determine where you can make cutbacks.

There are a number of ways to lower your driver’s insurance. In most places, it’s cheaper to stay in and make a meal for yourself rather than going out to eat. There’s no shame in clipping coupons. The store brand is just as good as the name brand.

4. Fill out a budget worksheet

There are quite a few different templates available from a simple Google search. Find the format that’s right for you and go to town.

5. If all else fails: Make a budget journal

This is cumbersome and time consuming, but if you just can’t seem to make the numbers work, you probably need to make a budget journal.

With a budget journal, you record every expense you have, whether it’s the movie you went to or the donut you had for breakfast. That caramel macchiato you get every morning might be costing you a hundred dollars a month. Did you calculate that into your fixed costs? You may need to think about a coffee maker…

Writing out a budget isn’t difficult, but it is sometimes unpleasant. Regardless, it is the best way to save money.