RedBoard Biz

Q&A with Outrank: Improve your online presence

Allison — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:44:31 +0000

As we have said here before, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Which is why maintaining the online presence for your small business is critical. We sat down with Carrie Shaw, Head of Marketing at Outrank to ask her expert advice on how to achieve success online.

Launched in January, Outrank is an online marketing solution that helps small businesses grow their customer base by marketing effectively online and on mobile devices.

1. What is the first step a small business should take in creating an online presence?

Every business needs some kind of web presence, whether it’s a website, a blog, a Facebook page or all of the above. But let me emphasize that none of these will do a business any good if there is no traffic directed to them. A website is only as good as the people who visit it, so it’s really important to consider not just establishing a presence, but establishing a strategy for directing people to that presence.

The two most common strategies to do so are paid search and SEO (search engine optimization), and I would recommend both.

How much of each depends on the business’ budget.

2. If I’m a small business with a website, how do I move my business up in online search rankings on Google and Bing?

Start by learning basic search engine optimization tips. Google has an excellent primer here.

There are two basic parts to search engine optimization: on-page optimization and off-page optimization. Both need to be considered. On-page optimization requires that your content be friendly to the search engines.

This is common sense. Search engines only want to direct traffic to good sites. Good sites require quality content with keywords that match what people are looking for. If I search for ‘roof repair Toronto’ I want to be directed to a roofing website in Toronto that will specifically tell me about their roof repair services, for example. Although designed for paid search, Google’s keyword tool is very good for researching keywords to include in your page’s content.

Off-site optimization involves things like getting your business listed in Google Places, or having videos on YouTube, or having quality links into your site, to compliment your web presence. These take time and effort, but are worth it. There has been a lot of news about link farming recently which has left some people wondering whether links are worthwhile. The answer is that they are – as long as they are there for a reason. A link from a legitimate website recommending your site is an excellent form of off-page optimization.

3. What types of small businesses do you see using your online marketing services most often?

We see a wide variety of small businesses using our services, from general contractors to lawyers to hearing aid clinics. We are very popular with businesses who simply don’t have the time to manage and optimize their campaigns, so they rely on us to do it for them.

Both paid search and SEO require regular care and feeding to ensure that traffic continues to be directed the right way. Some businesses find it to be too time consuming to do that on their own, so they call us.

4. What are some popular and cost effective online tools for tracking?

If you’re just starting out, try Google Analytics. It’s free and gives you a very good sense for how many visitors you’re getting to your site, and what people are doing on your site. If you’re doing paid search through either Google or Bing and Yahoo!, you’ll want to use Ad Words and Ad Center, respectively. These are also free.

However, some people may find them complex and time-consuming.

The good news is that anyone who provides a managed service for search marketing should be able to provide simple reports and tracking tools along with their service. This is something businesses should be sure to ask about when considering hiring a consultant or subscribing to a managed service like OutRank. We believe reporting should be dead simple.

5. What blogs or websites do you visit to learn about small business marketing tips and tricks?

We read lots of tips and tricks daily. A few of our favourites include:

Search Engine Land – to stay abreast of the entire search landscape
Small Business Trends – an excellent resource for small businesses of any type
Mobile Marketing Watch – mobile is something we all need to understand and continue to embrace

Alison is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

Mobile wallet 101: The basics of contactless payment

lauren — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:32:03 +0000

These days everyone is talking about the mobile wallet and how consumers will be able to pay with their mobile devices. Some technology experts are advocating for mobile wallets, claiming they have the next breakthrough for future payments.

But why are people going to choose to tap and go with their phones rather than swipe their credit cards? And what benefits does the mobile wallet give to retailers? Here’s a primer on the mobile wallet and some of the major advantages for businesses.

How it works:

You have probably seen or used contactless payment terminals at local stores, gas stations or restaurants. This technology, known as NFC or near field communications, allows customers to tap their credit card near an NFC terminal, and in a few seconds their transaction is complete. Many different mobile operating systems, as well as device manufactures, are adapting this technology to be able to support NFC on mobile devices with a concept called “mobile payment”.

Why does it matter?

Different banks and credit card companies have been issuing contactless cards for years, but the concept of a “mobile wallet” takes this technology one step further. Essentially, it provides a place where a variety of different credit cards, coupled with assorted loyalty programs, can be bundled together into one easy-to-use service. In no time at all, customers will be able to quickly scan their phone for the right “card”, instead of rifling through their wallet for the right payment method. Eventually, this technology will go beyond payments, allowing stores and customers to keep ID documents, transit passes and all other traditional wallet items securely on the mobile device of their choice.

Is it secure?

The good news is using your phone as a mobile wallet is arguably safer than carrying a real wallet, with remote locking, data encryption, memory protection and passwords keeping your information safe on your device. While much of this technology hasn’t been rolled out for merchants and consumers yet,you’ll soon start to see these services more and more.

What is the benefit?

So, what are the benefits for business? There are lots.

Easier and more affordable ways to create loyalty programs for customers.
New ways to send vouchers and coupons.
Great potential for tracking buyer habits and customer analytics.
Possibility to leverage Location Based Services (LBS) in and around stores.
Easier refunds and charge-backs.
Cheaper transactions (for both consumer and merchant).
Very simple deployment for merchants
Enable businesses to go paperless

And lastly, where and when?

The notion of mobile wallet has been around for a while, but the technology is real and is already being used in many different parts of the world. Businesses can prepare for this new wave of payments with many different strategies, but being aware that it is coming is the first step.

For more information about mobile wallet take a look at the following resources or leave us a comment and we will be sure to answer your questions.

UPDATE (May 15, 2012, 1:17 pm): Today, we announced an agreement with CIBC to launch Canada’s first mobile payment solution, allowing Canadians to pay with their CIBC credit card at the checkout counter using their Rogers “Near Field Communications” (NFC)-enabled smartphones. This means that later this year, Rogers customers will be able to use this payment capability at merchants across Canada where contactless credit card payments are accepted. For more details, check out our post on RedBoard.

Lauren is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

Contest: How do you use tablets in your business?

Allison — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:58:43 +0000

In the past year, tablet ownership tripled in Canada and it will no doubt continue to grow. We love tablets and we know that many of our customers are using the technology in interesting ways from replacing paper to delivering presentations.

We love to hear about the creative ways small businesses are using tablets like the BlackBerry® PlayBook, iPad and Android™ devices. But we want to hear more – so to spread the love we are hosting a contest.

All you have to do is leave us a comment here on this blog post to be entered into our draw. The prize? One of our favourite smartphones – the Samsung Galaxy Note. What’s more, the winning entry will also have the opportunity to have their small business featured in Connected for Business magazine.

In your comment:

Tell us about your business or the work you do
What challenges have tablets helped you with at work?
What kinds of benefits have you seen since you started using tablets?

The RedBoard Biz team will narrow down the entries to our favourite three submissions and publish them on the blog the morning of June 8. Later that afternoon, the winner’s name will be drawn at random from one of the top three submissions and published on the blog.

Remember, creativity counts. Make your entry unique and be as detailed as you like. The contest starts today and ends June 8. A contest winner will be announced both here on our blog and via our Twitter account, @RogersBiz.

UPDATE (May 17, 2012, 9:31 a.m): We’ve extended the contest end date to 12 noon on June 27, 2012.

Alison is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

Contest Closes at 12 noon on June 27, 2012. Open to residents of Canada over age of majority, excluding Quebec. To enter, leave a comment on our contest blog post on our business blog, RedBoard Biz. The top three entries will be entered into a random draw to win one (1) Samsung Galaxy Note valued at approximately $699.99. One entry/person. Odds of winning depend on quality of the entry and the number of eligible entries received. Mathematical skill-testing question to be correctly answered to win. No Purchase Necessary. Full rules can be found here.

Outlast the elements: Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Rugby

Alex — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:23:24 +0000

If you work in harsh conditions, you know how easy it is to damage or ruin your mobile phone. Built for strength and durability, Samsung Galaxy Rugby has all the high-tech functionality of a smartphone, but is built with the strength to handle whatever you throw at it: from the work site and beyond.

Built to last

The Samsung Galaxy Rugby is IP67 certified which means that it is extremely resistant to dust and dirt and is built to withstand 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water. For daily use, the rugged design ensures that it can survive typical drops. For use outdoors, the Galaxy Rugby features a scratch resistant 3.7” AMOLED Plus Display which makes it easy to read emails and the water resistant design allows you to use it in humid environments.

Stay connected and organized

There’s no need to sacrifice functionality for durability with the Samsung Galaxy Rugby. This device uses Android 2.3 operating system so it comes with a number of features that make it easy to stay connected and organized throughout the day. Some key features include:

Full email support for multiple accounts.
The ability to view and edit word documents with the pre-installed Quickoffice application. You can also use Quickoffice to view PDFs.
A built-in file manager to keep all downloaded and created documents organized.
Web browser with Flash 11 support which means you watch videos within the browser.
Calendar, to-do and voice memo apps that make it easy to capture notes and appointments when they come up.

The Samsung Galaxy Rugby gives you access to the Android Market as well so you can download additional apps as you need them.

Plus, as a Rogers Small Business customer you can get unlimited Canada-wide team calling so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of your minutes when you need to stay in touch.

For more information about the device, click here.

Alex is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

PROFIT Magazine: Ride the custom app wave

lauren — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:03:24 +0000

Original article by Jacob Stoller published in the May 2012 issue of PROFIT Magazine.

The number of mobile apps has grown at a breathtaking rate over the past few years. Mobilewalla, a Singapore-based search portal for mobile apps, estimates that the total passed one million last December, up from just 8,000 in 2008. Now, many firms are jumping at the chance to forge stronger ties with customers by distributing their own branded mobile apps.

Whether you sell to consumers or businesses, it’s likely that a large and fast-growing share of your target clients are already using apps. This reflects the dramatic rise in usage of tablets and smartphones, and the allure of apps’ anytime/anywhere convenience and (in most cases) ease of use.

Companies of all sizes are developing custom mobile apps for an array of purposes. For SMEs, the biggest action is in using apps as an affordable marketing tool. (You also can employ them for various internal business processes but, for now, the greater complexity and cost of such usage typically makes an off-the-shelf app a better bet than developing a custom one.)

It’s easy to see the appeal for businesses of creating a custom mobile app—or, more likely, hiring an app developer to do so. With development costs for a basic app typically running in the $10,000 to $20,000 range, this is an affordable way to reach out to target markets. What’s more, once someone chooses to download your mobile app from an online store such as Apple’s The App Store and install it, it will reside on that person’s mobile device. That’s a strong brand presence.

“It’s an unprecedented opportunity to have an extension of your business in everyone’s pocket,” says Greg Betty, president and CEO of Intelliware Software Development Inc., a Toronto-based firm that helps companies plan and manage custom-app projects. “That we’re able to do this is quite remarkable.”

Of course, you first have to come up with a compelling reason for people to download, install and start using your app. Here are five smart ways to do so, and thereby build a connection with existing and potential clients:

Get them addicted to your on-the-go game: There’s little point in developing an app that someone will use only once. “You need to make it interesting enough that people will use it over and over again,” says Jennifer Blakeley, CEO of Niagara Falls, Ont.-based Alphabet Photography Inc. “You want to keep it high on the list of the apps that they use every day.”

For that, it’s hard to beat a mobile game. That’s why Blakeley’s fi rm paid a developer $12,000 to create Word Chaos, a scrambled word game with photos that look like letters of the alphabet. The game creates awareness of what Alphabet sells: photos of objects and scenery, each resembling a letter of the alphabet, framed in combinations spelling out a word of the client’s choice. More than 200,000 people have downloaded Word Chaos since last July.

Aside from the app’s value as a marketing method, Blakeley had considered creating a new source of revenue by charging for the game. But with hundreds of leads streaming in from all over the world, she has decided to keep Word Chaos free and thus maximize the number of downloads. “It’s really a marketing and branding tool at this moment,” says Blakeley. “We’re just allowing people to enjoy it.”

Offer consumers something both enticing and nearby: Mobile devices’ geographical-location feature opens up a wealth of marketing possibilities. These go beyond the obvious one of showing a consumer which of your locations she’s closest to at the moment and a map of how to get there. You also should give her an incentive to head to that location right now.

People who are out and about, for instance, can use Canadian Tire’s mobile app to view the retailer’s flyers for special offers as well as to check product availability by store. And TimmyMe, the Tim Hortons mobile app, lists amenities at each of the chain’s 10 closest locations, such as whether a given outlet has a drive-thru and accepts the Tim Card.

SMEs also can learn from what the Canadian Real Estate Association offers with its app. Out of the thousands of property listings, homebuyers can use the app to review only those ones that are in a specified geographical area and meet other criteria they select, such as size and price range. The app even allows a user to add an open-house listing directly to the calendar on her mobile. Companies in an array of sectors could apply the same idea to an app that lets users zero in on offers that are relevant and close at hand.

Provide the right tool for the job: Look for ways to win over consumers with an app that lets them access useful information right when they need it. Although Oakley Products Inc., a Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based sunglasses and sportswear manufacturer, isn’t in the marine-forecasting business, its free Surf Report app advises on wave conditions in locations frequented by users of Oakley products. This creates a brand presence on thousands of surfers’ mobile devices—a prime target for Oakley.

In a similar vein, Genworth Financial Canada, an Oakville, Ont.-based provider of mortgage-default insurance, distributes a mobile mortgage-calculator app that real estate agents can use when consulting with their clients. This brings the Genworth brand into the conversation at precisely the right moment.

Give ‘em a soft sell wrapped in useful information: Toronto-based Random House Canada amuses book lovers all the way to the online checkout. Its Conversation Starters app suggests lively facts you can drop to break the ice at social gatherings. For instance, did you know that CBC brass originally rejected Don Cherry as a hockey commentator because he didn’t meet the network’s standards for grammar? This particular conversation starter includes a link to Amazon’s website, where you can order a copy of the hockey book from Random House in which this tidbit appears.

You could emulate this idea on your app by presenting intriguing facts, with links to a product or service related to each fact. Or you could take a more earnest approach by offering FAQ content that, in answering a consumer’s question, alerts him to products or services related to that question.

Save consumers precious time: Chipotle Mexican Grill has an app that allows a customer to order and pay for, say, a burrito from a mobile device. That’s handy, but the real appeal is that the customer can then bypass the restaurant lineup and go straight to the cashier to pick up her meal.

Companies in other industries could apply the same idea of using a mobile app to speed up the buying process. You could, for instance, present a menu of product or service offerings that lays out the options clearly, then anticipates and answers the key questions that a client is likely to ask. Depending on the nature of what you sell, customers might be able to place an order through your app. But even if that isn’t feasible, they could save valuable time up front by narrowing down their options before they sit down with you to make a final choice.

Ilustration by Chris Silas Neal. To view the original article visit PROFITguide.com.

Toronto Board of Trade Event: Breakfast with Samsung and Rogers

lauren — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:58:59 +0000

A common question from small business owners purchasing devices for themselves and their employees is, “What mobile device should I choose?” Not so long ago, the choice was limited. That’s now changing thanks to manufacturers creating more business-grade devices and the increasing “bring your own device” trend. The Android operating system has been making steady inroads in the business market. To learn more about this trend, join us, along with Samsung Mobile, for an informative session on the latest innovative Android products and solutions available for businesses today.

Why attend?

The event will help you to understand how smartphones, tablets and Android business solutions allow you to take your office on-the-go. Samsung experts will teach you about Samsung’s suite of solutions, including mobile device management, on device encryption and virtual private networks. You can also get hands-on experience with a selection of live Samsung devices.

Interested? Here are the details:

Location: Toronto Board of Trade 4th Floor, First Canadian Place, Toronto

Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Registration: 7:30 a.m

Session: 8:00 a.m. – 9.30 a.m.

This event is complimentary to Toronto Board of Trade members. To reserve your seat, e-mail abf@bot.com or go here for more information. We will also be giving away tickets to this event from our @RogersBiz Twitter account on Monday at 12 noon EST. Follow @RogersBiz for more details.

If you’re unable to make it to the event, we’ll be adding the presentation to SlideShare in the coming days. We will also be tweeting live from our @RogersBiz twitter account at the event Wednesday morning. Stay tuned!

Lauren is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

RedBoard Biz video: Hands on with the new Nokia Lumia 900

RogersMiranda — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:36:54 +0000

Last week I had the chance to sit down with Chad Saliba from Nokia to learn all about the new Nokia Lumia 900. We met at the MaRS Centre in downtown Toronto, a place where entrepreneurs and small businesses meet to spark new ideas.

Exclusive to Rogers customers, the Nokia Lumia 900 is the latest Windows device from Nokia and with LTE speeds, a 4.3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED screen and high quality 8 mega pixel camera that is also front facing, it’s a great device for businesses on the go. Check out the video below to see what Chad had to say.

To learn more about the Nokia Lumia 900 and other mobile solutions for your business, visit www.rogers.com/smallbusiness

For more information on the Nokia Lumia 900, you can also check out our blog post and video on RedBoard.

How do you stay connected while you’re on the go?

Miranda is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

Connected for Business: 3 keys to guiding your company through change

lauren — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:44:59 +0000

For our second Connected for Business feature – a Rogers magazine exclusively for business customers and enthusiasts – we’ve chosen an article from the editors of PROFIT Magazine.

If your business has been through a massive change- the kind of endeavor that alters your business processes from end to end – you’ll know that it is not easy to get every employee on board.

In the winter 2012 issue, there’s a great article that can help – Great Ideas: 3 Keys to Guiding Your Company Through Any Change. The article explains how transformation specialists Michael Hammer and Lisa Hershman – authors of Faster, Cheaper, Better: The 9 Levers for Transforming How Work Gets Done – use leadership strategies to make organization wide tactics stick, such as:

Educate from the top down
Give your project a jargon-free slogan
Relate to the strains the organization is experiencing

To read the full article, or the rest of the edition of Connected for Biz, head over to http://connectedforbusiness.ca/digitalmagazine and click on the winter 2012 edition. The full article is on page 65.

Note that the virtual magazine is best viewed from your PC, or on your iPhone or iPad using the mobile optimized version which can be found here.

Lauren is a regular contributor to Redboard Biz

This season’s perfect accessory: the new, faster LTE Rocket mobile hotspot

RogersKaili — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:21:31 +0000

Spring has sprung here and with the sudden increase in temperature I had a light bulb moment: why doesn’t my team take all our meetings outdoors? With the newly launched Sierra Wireless AirCard 763S LTE mobile hotspot, we can do this pretty easily!

Not only could we use the new hotspot to reschedule our boardroom bookings to the lawn, park, or patio, it’s also useful for people who travel on business or if you’re taking it easy lakeside at the cottage this summer and need to stay connected.

With the new Sierra Wireless AirCard 763S LTE mobile hotspot you can create a password-protected hotspot in seconds for up to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices. This means that no matter where you decide to set up your office, you and your team can all access your emails, presentations and shared documents online. Here are a few more advantages:

It’s faster than ever: the maximum theoretical download speed is up to 100 Mbps but this next generation device is enabled for both 1700/2100MHz and 2600 MHz spectrum connectivity on the Rogers LTE network for typical LTE download speeds of 12-40 Mbps compared to 12-25 Mbps for devices using 1700/2100MHz only.
It’s flexible: the mobile hotspot isn’t limited to laptops- you can connect virtually any Wi-Fi device including tablets, e-readers, printers, cameras, music or gaming devices.
It’s easy to carry and use everywhere: About the size of a deck of cards, with up to 6 hours of battery life, and a helpful LCD screen to guide you, being productive amongst nature has never been this simple.

In order to access the Rogers LTE network, you’ll need the following:

an LTE-ready device
an LTE SIM card, and
an LTE plan within Rogers LTE coverage area.

When outside of LTE coverage area, the mobile hotspot seamlessly connects to Rogers 4G HSPA+ network across the nation and supports roaming in over 190 countries. Rogers has the fastest and largest LTE network* and it’s available in select Canadian cities. You can check out www.rogers.com/coverage for a map and details.

For more information on this device and other LTE devices check out Rogers.com/LTE

Where do you need to stay connected? i.e. cottage, on the beach, etc.?

Kaili is a regular contributor to RedBoard

*Within Rogers LTE network footprint. Based on tests comparing data throughput speeds and on geographic coverage area comparison (in square kilometers) to Bell and Telus’ LTE networks. See www.rogers.com/coverage for full details on Rogers LTE network coverage.

Manage your business’s privacy with mobile app protection

lauren — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:39:21 +0000

As devices become more intelligent and mobile technology is used more frequently in your business, mobile security is essential. In the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing mobile security tips that can help you whether you are a small business owner or manager of the IT department.

Recently, we wrote posts about security tips for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android. Today we’re talking about security on mobile applications for business and how to stop them from accessing off-limit data.

Apps can be essential for day-to-day business. Before downloading them to your device, it is essential to know the full capabilities of these programs, including the amount of information they may take from you or your employee’s device.

Here’s how adding apps to your regular mobile security check can help keep your business safe:

It helps prevent staff from unintentionally exposing your network and devices to viruses and hackers.
Helps to limit the downloading of malicious, pirated or repackaged applications from unofficial websites.
Helps to ensure that apps on business-used devices are not accessing sensitive business data without your permission or knowledge.

What can you do today?

Say ‘no’ to app permissions
Some apps are able to access users’ locations and contacts. Make sure users know when to say ‘no’ to apps that are requesting this kind of information access.
Create a pool of approved apps
Define app download policies and make sure users only download (and update) approved software.
Use application access control software
Not all apps are what they seem. But there are tools that can be downloaded for free or purchased to help monitor how your device is behaving and, if it sees something suspicious, can quarantine and can even remotely wipe it.

Want to learn more?

Watch this video from No Panic Computing to learn how to change Facebook privacy settings to stop it from accessing employee information.
Check out Mobile Application and MDM tips in our mobile security e-book.
Find out how mobile apps access personal data and explore security with this report from Lookout Security.

Are you using apps for business? What security features have you found useful?

Lauren is a regular contributor to Redboard Biz