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If you missed any of the fast paced action in the world of business this week, don’t worry. As always, the Small Business Trends editorial team is hard at work. We bring you the news you need to run your business with added insight. Here are the top stories relevant to small business this week.

Enjoy!

Social Media

The Twitter IPO is coming. Twitter recently purchased a new advertising platform. The site remains a marketing powerhouse. And the company’s plan to go public shows just how valuable that marketing machine could be.

Yelp sues law firm over reviews. If you’ve been tempted to write a fake review on your business’s Yelp page, you’d better think twice. Yelp is taking a law firm to court for allegedly doing the same. The company says it’s a breach of contract. Anita Campbell has more.

Instagram is getting bigger and bigger. The network got its start by letting people share photos with artsy filter effects. Now, it’s reached 150 million users a month. Your business probably can’t afford to ignore this channel any longer — especially if you have a very “visual” business.

Man spends $1,000 to complain on Twitter. A businessman spent more than $1,000 on promoted tweets. He used them to complain about customer service on a commercial airline. The story is instructive. Customers will even pay to have their say when something goes wrong.

Google News

Google opens a community for Adwords Express. The ad network for local businesses was designed to be as easy to use as possible. It just got even easier. Now there’s a community where you can ask all of your most important questions.

Get authorship with your Google Plus sign in. This is only available for material published on WordPress and TypePad so far. But chances are strong other platforms will be added soon. And it’s another good reason to sign up for Google Plus.

Tech

Dell prepares a new Windows tablet. The company is reintroducing its Venue series with an 8-inch tablet running Windows 8.1. The device showed up at a recent San Francisco event. Reports indicate it will be formally announced Oct. 2.

Microsoft will unveil two new tablets Monday Sept. 23, 2013. The Surface 2 will replace the Surface RT and the Surface Pro 2 will replace the Surface Pro. Microsoft cut prices on the original devices earlier this year due to poor sales. Still, the company is expected to price the Surface 2 starting at $499 and the Surface Pro 2 is expected to be $899.

And rumor has it Nokia has a tablet, too. The smartphone maker set to be acquired by Microsoft may be introducing the device at an event in late October. Little is known about the anticipated 10.1-inch machine except what has been guessed at from leaked photos on the Internet.

Reading News Photo via Shutterstock

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Microsoft is expected to launch two new devices on Monday, September 23, 2013.  The Surface 2 will replacing the Surface RT, and the Surface Pro 2 will replace the Surface Pro. But the pricing on both new devices may still be too high to interest small businesses.

The Microsoft Surface 2 is expected to start at $499 with a 64GB version priced at $599, ZDNet reports. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 2 is expected to retail at $899.

Existing Surface RT and Surface Pro models will still be available, although we’re not sure for how much longer.  The next generation models will not be shipped until October.

There’s certainly a demand for Windows tablets among small business owners seeking an alternative to Apple or Android operating systems. But recently Microsoft was forced to cut prices on both the Surface RT and Surface Pro when sales were disappointing for both devices.

A Peek at the New Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

Paul Thurrott reports on his Super Site for Windows that the new Microsoft Surface 2 will include:

• A 10.6-inch HD screen
• Front and rear cameras
• Up to 8 hours of battery life
• Windows RT 8.1 and Outlook RT

Meanwhile, the new Microsoft Surface Pro 2 is expected to have the same dimensions but be heavier (2 pounds vs. the 1.5 pounds of Surface 2) and thicker (.53 inches vs. .37 inches). It will also have slightly less battery life. The thicker device will have the option for a newly designed dock allowing it to function more like a desktop, but won’t come with Windows Office installed.

Two other Windows tablet devices may be unveiled soon, one from Dell on Oct. 2 and another from Nokia later in the month.

Surface Pro Image: Microsoft

The post Microsoft’s Surface Pro 2 May Still Be Too Pricey appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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Social media can be an important tool for small businesses and a way to spread their message about their products and services. But to use social media effectively, you must first understand the rules for success. Social media triumphs depend on so many factors. But there are some “big hairy audacious goals” you can set for yourself.

They do require extra effort – but they will make your social media campaigns shine.

These aren’t quick fixes. But they will move you from a mediocre social presence with few followers and little interaction, to a vibrant network of engaged connections ready to spread your message.

Take the Time to Build a Network

We’re talking a lot of time. For example, author, speaker and networker Chris Brogan has been blogging since 1998 and involved in digital media for 13 years. A look at Brogan’s bio gives an idea of the time he has spent networking with others.

It also gives you a list of his other accomplishments including being the NY Times bestselling author of The Impact Equation and other books, publisher of Owner Magazine, CEO and President at Human Business Works and more.

His social media followers on sites like Twitter and Google Plus are diverse and represent networks that clearly took time and effort to build.

Look for Ways to Make a Difference

UK blogger Sarah Arrow doesn’t just have a strong following on social sites like Twitter. Through her website Sarkemedia.com, Arrow offers advice and services that help others use social media, blogging and even Kindle book promotions to attract more clients.

But Arrow also demonstrates she’s not only about business as head blogger on the women’s business site Birds on the Blog. The site promotes not just the opinions of its guest bloggers, but also efforts to raise the funds for the schooling of two young children in Uganda.

Shine a Light On Others

Don’t make your social media efforts all about you. Try to take some time to shine the light on others.

Here’s a tip: Pick a few people from your followers and connections and highlight them. Share and promote content they’ve shared or just give a shout out.

Leverage trends like Follow Friday on Twitter to send shout outs to those you appreciate – just because.

Be More Social, Have a Conversation

Though your aim when using social media may be marketing your product or promoting your brand, a far better approach is to view social media for what it is.

Listen to the conversations others are having. Answer their questions if you can. Take part in brainstorming sessions when others are seeking ideas. Ask questions of your own. Build connections and trust.

Connecting and showing interest in others on social media will help you build a stronger and more effective network and will help you more effectively spread your message when the time is right.

Gorilla Photo via Shutterstock

The post 4 Big Hairy Audacious Goals For Better Social Media appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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It is an undeniable fact that the Internet is one of the most cost-effective enablers for reaching a broader and much more diverse audience. However, only 5% of the 47 million small and medium businesses in India have a Web presence. And one of them, NowFloats, hopes to increase the online presence of Indian small businesses by making it simpler to create websites.

And the good news for most small businesses is – it just takes a couple of SMSs (short message services).

Not all small businesses in India have a website or Internet connection, but all of them have a mobile connection. It is this pervasive technology that NowFloats will be using to bridge the gap and help businesses use the Internet for increasing their bottom line.

There are about 900 million mobile users in India and the rapid growth of mobile and wireless connections is seeing increasing adoption of the Internet. The number of web users in India reached 176 million in 2012.

Web and mobile users are increasingly depending on the Internet and services like JustDial to search for services, businesses or deals relevant to their location. NowFloats provides location-tagged websites which make it easier for people to find businesses or deals relevant to their location. It also offers a mobile app for Android and Windows smartphones that enables users to discover businesses or get deals based on their location.

Businesses can even use SMS to update their website and NowFloat's patent pending technology ensures that these messages rank higher on the search results of popular search engines. The company maintains that a website will be created within 13 minutes of receiving a couple of SMSs. This innovative service has been adopted by more than 2,000 small businesses.

Brand Loyalty

NowFloats also helps businesses connect with their customers and increase brand loyalty. For customers subscribing to a business and the news update service, all messages that the business sends to update their website can also be sent directly to their customers.

NowFloats, based in Hyderabad, India, was co-founded by Jasminder Singh Gulati, Ronak Kumar Samantaray, Nitin Jain, and Neeraj Sabharwal. While Jasminder, Ronak, and Nitin were ex-Microsoft colleagues, Neeraj was associated as the creative/advertising person for many campaigns at Microsoft. Jasminder and Nitin met Ronak at a TEDx conference and since they were all working on similar problems, they got together. Within two months, Neeraj joined them as the Chief Experience Officer.

The initial focus for NowFloats was to build an application for finding all establishments such as deals, events etc relevant to a location. The app would also have 'floats' or thoughts about a location that a user could share. However, the main challenge they encountered was that the basic information about establishments required for making such an application work was hardly available and highly unstructured. To fill this gap, the founders undertook a new mission to enable all businesses to create and update their website – through mobile and SMS, without a computer.

There are quite a few companies that help small businesses create websites in a self-service mode, including Google and GoDaddy. Companies like BuildBazaar, Shopify and Shopnix help create eCommerce stores. However, having a computer is a basic requirement with these platforms, a compulsion that NowFloats aims to eliminate.

All Small Businesses Can Have a Small Business Website

NowFloats hopes to make the process of website creating and updating so simple and accessible that all small businesses would be able to have a Web presence. A Web presence is the first step that a business needs to take before it sets up an eCommerce store or sees any of the other advantages like broader customer base, broader, cheaper advertising reach and higher revenue that web-enabled businesses typically enjoy.

NowFloats has recently raised its first round of funding from Mumbai Angels, Blume Ventures and a few individual investors. It has also been selected by the Israel Foreign Ministry and TiE Delhi as the Indian entry for a startup global competition, “Start Tel Aviv Competition” in Israel in October this year.

The company is also working with large enterprises interested in acquiring large numbers of small business customers – mobile carriers and mobile handset vendors, for example – as possible channel partners.

NowFloats now has a big job ahead – getting 47 million Indian small businesses online.

Businessman Photo via Shutterstock

The post NowFloats Helps Small Businesses With First Step into the Online World appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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My kids love toys that glow in the dark. But because I love bright light and normally keep all the windows wide open and the lamps on, if they want to enjoy some glow-in-the-dark fun, we need to all crowd into the one tiny windowless bathroom in the basement and close the door.

Normally all goes well, except for the one time I made the glow-in-the-dark toy jump at the kids while using my deepest spooky voice. Then you’ve got little people screaming and trying to run in a tiny dark bathroom where the adult is trying to get out of the way – but is actually just blocking the door and hoping that no one gets hurt and tells Mom what happened.

Sometimes glow-in-the-dark just makes things worse.

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Small businesses operating in a primarily Windows environment should eventually be the ideal market for a tablet run on Windows too. So the opportunity exists for a viable alternative to devices run on popular Apple or Android operating systems.

And now there’s buzz that one of the best known manufacturers of Windows mobile devices is planning to seize that opportunity.

Photos bouncing around the Web show a device bearing Nokia, Windows RT and Verizon logos. And speculation among industry watchers is that Nokia could be introducing such a device as early as October.

More Specifics of a New Windows RT

Details on the device are obviously sketchy. However, recently The Verge reported the 10.1-inch device would feature a higher end processor than Microsoft’s Surface RT, would possess 4G LTE connectivity and would be made available on AT&T here in the U.S.

Price of the device is also uncertain, although that will probably be a key factor in how successfully the new device fairs, especially with potential small business customers.

Remember that Microsoft introduced the Surface RT at $499 then slashed that price by $150 to $349 based on disappointing sales. So if Nokia learns from Microsoft’s mistake, the initial price should be lower.

Launch May Be Delayed

Though the new Windows RT device was set to be unveiled at a Nokia product event later this month, that event has been pushed off at least a few weeks, Reuters reports. The delay is apparently due to the announcement of Microsoft’s acquisition of the company earlier this month. But  it’s possible Nokia plans to unveil the device at a recently announced Innovation Reinvented event scheduled for Oct.22.

Unveiling Photo via Shutterstock

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