Five Things To Know This Week:
1) Consumers Want to Shop Local
2) What’s a Google Core Update and Why You Should Care
3) New Contactless Payment Solution
4) Facebook Users are Getting Younger
5) Resource of the Week – The SBE Council
Enter the “Small Business, Big Wins” Contest! See details below.
Brian Moran
CEO
Small Business Edge
Brian Moran & Associates
Special Message From Our Sponsor:
Barclays “Small Business, Big Wins” campaign is Back!
Small businesses are invited to share how they overcame the numerous challenges and obstacles of 2021 at BarclaysSmallBizBigWins.com for a chance to win the $60,000 grand prize or one of many cash prizes. The deadline for submission is March 11. The contest winners will be announced the week of May 1 to coincide with National Small Business Week.
All businesses that submit qualifying entries will also be entered in a random drawing to win one of 50 $2,000 sweepstakes prizes.
To enter the contest, small business owners are asked to share how their business met the unique demands of 2021 in fewer than 500 words and upload an original image that helps illustrate the submission. For a full list of the contest rules, please visit BarclaysSmallBizBigWins.com.
Consumers Want to Shop Local
In its 2nd annual State of Local Business Report, Podium
- 90% of consumers say they go out of their way to shop locally
- 92% of local businesses say consumer expectations have changed since the start of the pandemic
- 40% still want contact-free transactions
- 44% still want more digital and mobile communications
- 59% still want expanded pick-up and delivery options
- The top reason consumers say they become loyal shoppers is the “ease of doing business”
- 75% are more likely to spend money at a local business if the business supports community issues and/or charitable causes
Read more about the state of local businesses.
What’s a Google Core Update and Why You Should Care
Small business owners know that the higher you rank on Google search, the easier and quicker it is for consumers to find your business. (That’s because Google dominates search with an 87.8% share.)
What most business owners don’t know is that Google constantly updates its algorithms. “Sometimes these are small tweaks; other times they’re “core updates,” and they can wreak havoc on your small business.
Read more about what you need to know about Google’s algorithm updates and how they impact your business by my friend Rieva Lesonsky.
New Contactless Payment Solution
GoDaddy recently introduced a new way for customers to pay—using QR Codes via the GoDaddy Mobile App. This enables small business owners to accept payments from their customers through a unique one-time QR Code generated for each transaction. The transactions are seamless and contactless (good for the customers) and don’t require businesses to purchase new hardware or use third-party payment apps. (good for the business owners).
Read more about this innovative payment solution.
Facebook Users are Getting Younger
One bright spot for Facebook these days is that its user base is getting younger. According to eMarketer, while Facebook is losing teens to other social platforms (about 1.5 million teens will leave Facebook between 2020 and 2025), more Gen Zers are joining.
Next year, says eMarketer, there will be 34.7 million Gen Z Facebook users in the U.S., compared to 33.1 baby boomers. That gap will widen through 2025.
If your marketing strategies include Facebook—and they should—target your ads accordingly.
Read more about Facebook’s changing demographics.
Resource of the Week
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), founded in 1994 with over 100k member supporters today, is an influential voice and advocate for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Led by President and CEO, Karen Kerrigan, the SBE Council spends countless hours educating elected officials, policymakers, business leaders and the public about key policies that enable business start-up and growth. growth and U.S. competitiveness. They also provide educational resources and research for business owners.
Sign up for SBE Council’s weekly newsletter, Small Business Insider, here.
