If you’re feeling the need to get more from your emails, PowerInbox wants to help. PowerInbox can incorporate ecommerce, videos, photos, real-time updates and more within the body of email messages. There’s no need to click out of the email to accomplish a task with PowerInbox, which makes it great for both marketing emails (to customers and prospects) and project management-related emails (to employees or independent contractors). Recipients can browse stored items, schedule meetings or appointments, interact with project management duties and more–right in the email. They can also watch videos or buy products directly within the email. PowerInbox works with Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Outlook and the platform is easy to use and understand.

Hiring a salesperson can be a huge decision for a small business owner—mostly because it’s often a huge expense. Good salespeople can command premium wages, leaving you in a Catch-22 situation: You need that salesperson to increase your sales, but without the sales, you can’t afford to hire the salesperson. So what can you do? One way to get around this dilemma is by hiring a manufacturers’ representative (or rep).

Kind of like freelancers, manufacturers’ reps are independent salespeople who are hired by several client companies. They’re most commonly found in business-to-business industries, and will usually focus on a specific industry so they can develop expertise.

Unlike in-house salespeople, reps are paid on commission, which means you’re only paying them if they get results for you. And since they typically work from their own offices, you don’t have to provide equipment and office space for them.

Reps are a great option for a growing company, since they usually want to see some level of success before they take on your business. If you’re a local business trying to expand regionally or a regional company looking to go national, a rep can be the perfect solution.

How do you hire a rep? First, determine what you need, including what are of the country you want to sell to and what type of customers you are seeking. The more narrowly you can focus, the better your chances of finding a rep with that particular expertise.

Referrals from other business owners or buyers in your industry are a good place to start finding reps. You can also advertise for reps online or in trade magazines. Contact manufacturers’ rep associations such as The Manufacturers’ Agents National Association or associations for your industry.

A good rep may work for businesses in the same industry, but they should not work for directly competitive companies. Also make sure the rep has adequate time to focus on your products, and talk to references to get a feel for the person’s reliability and effectiveness.

You’ll need a detailed contract that covers your expectations, payment and when the relationship can be terminated. Reps are independent contractors, so the contract is essential in spelling out how you want them to perform.

Stay in contact with your rep regularly and do all you can to help him or her succeed. A good rep can be the linchpin in your growth strategy.

Image by Flickr user buddawiggi (Creative Commons)

Sometimes the best employees for your small business are already working somewhere else. They may be looking to get out of their current job situation but don’t want their boss to know. Now you can find them (and they can find you) through the JobPoacher website. Job seekers can post their job skills and resume information without exposing their identities, and you can list your job openings (free) with a simple format that covers what you have to offer, where the job is located and what you’ll pay. That cuts down the search time and effort for both parties. JobPoacher also monitors the listings for any inappropriate postings.

When it comes to small businesses, Anita Campbell, author of Visual Marketing, knows a thing or two.  Recently, Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner interviewed Campbell for her insight on small business social media trends.  Here are some of the key takeaways:

Believe it or not, some small businesses won’t get much business from social media, no matter how hard they try.  For example, a small landscaping company that gets most of its business from local neighborhoods may not see an impact from Facebook or Twitter.  Campbell suggests businesses like this should stick to fliers, word of mouth marketing, and customer testimonials to get their message to the target market.

Campbell’s biggest tip for growing an online community sounds familiar, but it is worth repeating:  When it comes to social media communications, don’t just broadcast – engage!  Campbell believes in pulling information back in from your social networks and fostering back-and-forth conversation, rather than sending out tweets and posts that simply tell your audience what you’d like them to know.  Give them a chance to talk, too, and you’ll get a better return for your investment on social media.

And, what is the biggest mistake Campbell sees small businesses making online?  It’s neglected websites, and they’re really a turn-off for customers.  When your website is out of date, and you greet customers with 2-year-old information, you’re sending customers a bad message.  If you are neglecting your website – your online storefront to the world – how much attention do you give to your customers or to other parts of your business?

Campbell is constantly watching small business trends through her sites, BizSugar and Small Business Trends, and here is what she is seeing now:

• Everyone is going mobile, including small businesses.  They are embracing mobile marketing with text messaging, location-based coupons and QR codes.
• Many small businesses are getting really good at social media.  They’re out there testing different campaigns and communications tactics, and they’re getting big results.

Are you one of the small businesses embracing mobile and excelling at social media?  You can check out more small business marketing tips and trends from Anita Campbell on BizSugar and Small Business Trends.

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Hiring independent contractors online was one of the hottest management trends for 2011, according to Elance, an online employment platform. The 2011 Employment Review from Elance reports the number of businesses seeking to hire online workers doubled in 2011. Even though the traditional employment market was stagnant last year, online hiring grew at a record pace, increasing more than 100 percent compared to 2010. Online work thrived this year with 650,000 new jobs posted on Elance and earnings of Elance contractors reaching $156 million.

For 2012, this trend isn’t slowing down—in fact, Elance’s data shows online hiring will grow even more this year. In the next 12 months, 83 percent of small businesses Elance surveyed expect to hire as many as 50 percent of their workers as online contractors.

For 2011, the skills that were most in demand among online workers were software development (with rising demand for HTML5, mobile, WordPress, Facebook and Twitter), creative and marketing (with rising demand for graphic design, Internet marketing, content writing, marketing communications and telemarketing), administration (with rising demand for transcription, admin support, data entry, research and customer service) and consulting (with rising demand for product manufacturing, architectural design, financial analysis, legal and business strategy).

Technical skills will be hot commodities this year as well. For 2012, Elance says the 10 most promising online careers are:

1.      Software Developer
2.      Visual Designer
3.      User Experience Designer
4.      Digital Marketer
5.      Technical Writer
6.      Web Researcher
7.      Data Analyst
8.      Content Moderator
9.      Accountant
10.  Distributed Workforce Manager

Elance also predicts that 2012 will see an even greater move toward globalization, as companies hire professionals from all over the world thanks to technological advancements that make it easier and more secure to collaborate online and communicate 24/7.

One thing to be aware of if you’re using online “virtual” workers: It’s more important than ever to be in compliance with IRS laws regarding independent contractors. Be sure you know what rules apply to your workers, wherever in the world they are.

Image by Flickr user photologue_np (Creative Commons)

Travel much? Need as much detail and information as you can get about when your flight will arrive, seating arrangements or even alternative flights in case you miss yours? For only $5, FlightTrack by Mobiata can help you get real-time departure times, zoomable maps and more. The interface is tablet-optimized and comes with an interactive and resizable widget. For an additional $5, you can upgrade to the pro version and integrate the information with TripIt. Or use it to track your visiting clients’ flights so you can be sure to pick them up on time.

If you think mobile marketing is all about reaching out to teenagers, techies or Gen Y hipsters, think again. One of the hottest markets for mobile purchasing is one you may not expect: moms.

It’s no secret that moms are major decision makers when it comes to household purchases. And if you know any moms, you know how much they rely on smartphones to stay connected, whether at the office, at home or on the go with the family. Now the advent of tablets is changing the game even more by giving moms a new way to access information and shop wherever they are.

Over the holidays, tablet computer ownership surged, with many of them given as gifts. Pew Internet and American Life data shows nearly 20 percent of Americans now own tablet or ereader devices. And a Nielsen study late last year found almost half (43 percent) of tablet owners are female.

The Kindle Fire and the latest iteration of Barnes & Noble’s Nook are also changing the game because they compete more directly with the top-selling tablet, the iPad, and are heavily marketed to women.

Tablet users are desirable customers: Many studies have found tablet users spend more time browsing online, are more likely to buy online and spend more when they do buy than smartphone users. Simply put, the tablet shopping experience is a lot more enjoyable than shopping on a tiny phone.

So what do you need to do to grab tablet-toting moms’ business? First, make sure your business website is optimized for tablet use. This means focusing on visuals, so be sure you have outstanding photos of your products. Think of tablet shopping like a digital catalog. The phrase “couch shopping” has been coined to reflect where most tablet use takes place—while relaxing at home—so your tablet experience should be fun, easy to use and engaging.

Of course, moms aren’t mindlessly flipping the pages of your digital catalog. They’re hunting for information and bargains, so be sure your tablet shopping experience is packed with product details, including reviews and comparisons to help Mom make the right decision.

While research so far seems to indicate tablet shoppers prefer browsers to apps, you shouldn’t discount apps altogether. If you can create an app to make shopping more fun, faster or simpler, do so. Also keep in mind that many moms share tablets with kids or use them to keep the kids entertained. If relevant to your business, an app targeting kids (such as the ability to create a “wish list” that Mom can access later) could be a great marketing tool.

Take the time to explore how tablets can help you reach moms, and your business will reap the benefits.

Image by Flickr user anurag adrihoti (Creative Commons)

You can’t be all things to all visitors on your website, but you can try to give each visitor a little individual attention by adding Smart Content. Smart Content lets you customize text, images or calls to action to different audiences simply by embedding code directly into your Web pages. The application lets you set rules, such as where the visitor is from, and then leads the visitor to their customized content. You can get Smart Content analytics to see how your new content is doing, and the app also works with your current analytics program such as Google Analytics.

Is your small business getting reviews and recommendations from customers on social media? If not, you may need to take steps to encourage this type of social sharing. A new study from Bazaarvoice, reported by eMarketer, found that consumers of all ages are increasingly relying on recommendations and reviews—both from people they know and from strangers online—when making purchasing decisions.

Bazaarvoice studied how “user-generated content”—which includes reviews, recommendations, questions or comments—was used by consumers in deciding what products, services and brands to patronize. The study focused on two different age groups: Millennials (29 and under) and Baby Boomers, and looked at content on brand websites, social networking sites and third-party websites (such as Yelp!.com).

What differentiates Boomers from Millennials? Boomers (aged 47-65) were more likely to rely on people they knew for recommendations; 66 percent relied on this source. Millennials, however, rely pretty much equally on people they know (51 percent) and anonymous user-generated content (51 percent) when deciding what to buy. websites (51 percent) to influence their buying decisions.

Millennials were also more likely than Boomers to share their brand experiences online, both positive and negative. One-fourth preferred to share this type of information on third-party sites (such as CNET), but the biggest group (42 percent) said social networking sites like Facebook were their favorite place to share information about brands.

Although 17 percent of Boomers do share positive brand experiences via social media, and 21 percent share on third-party websites, the preferred method for Boomers was email (38 percent). In comparison, just 24 percent of Millennials used email to share purchasing experiences.

While there are some significant differences among the age groups, there are two major takeaways for your business:

1)    Both age groups are becoming more comfortable with relying on other consumers’ input and advice when making purchases. As familiarity with social sites increases among all age groups, the age-old practice of “word-of-mouth” is only going to get more and more digital.

2)    Both Millennials and Boomers trusted user-generated content significantly more than they trusted advertising or publicity. In fact, they trusted other users’ opinions even more than impartial news articles about brands.

If your business isn’t already encouraging this type of feedback from customers, this study is a clear sign that you need to start.

Image by Flickr user Owen Brown (Creative Commons)

We told you about FanGager last year, but now there is an updated version that can help you get your fans to stick around your Facebook page or Twitter feed a little longer. FanGager has a suite of tools to help you add rewards programs, games, coupons and more to your social media offerings. And now the activities appear directly on the page instead of users having to switch to a separate tab. Plus, new activities such as Trivia Video and Profile Pic give fans a reason to keep returning to your pages to see how they measure up to your other fans.