Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Small business owners have an important task when it comes to their small business website, including choosing the right web hosting company that fits all the important requirements, such as budget, speed, customer service, etc. Alas, sometimes it is necessary to say goodbye to one hosting company and start again with a new web host.

But what is involved when you are ready to change your web host? If you are a small business without an experienced webmaster, you may want to heed the following steps to get your small business website on the right hosting server.

Choose Your New Web Host

First, it is important to choose the correct host. If your current web host is not meeting your business needs, do a bit if research. There are plenty of "Top 10" small business web hosting reviews online that can give you a comprehensive idea of a web host's price, service, and features. When you find the suitable host that fits your small business website requirements, make your purchase.

It is recommended that you buy at least 12 months of service, but no more than 24 months. Many web hosts will attempt to get you to pay for 3, 4, even 5 years of service in advance for a lower price. However, one or two years still allows you to change the web host in the near future if necessary without losing money.

Backup All Web Files

Be sure you backup all the current web files that are used on your current web host. You should have these files backed up in your own server. Double check that you have everything.

Inquire if the New Web Host Has Free Migration

Some web hosts will provide "free migration." This is a great help to get your web files set up properly on the new host. If your host offers this service, be sure to take advantage.

Upload Web Files to New Host

Once you have purchased a new web host, it is time to get your small business website files onto their servers. One way is to simply use the provided account access software, also known as the control panel. This process uploads just a few or even one file at a time and can be a long process. But smaller websites with fewer files can manage this process fine.

If you have a larger website with many pages and files, consider using a FTP client software. This software is usually for purchase, but the interface allows the user to access two servers (or hard drives) at once, and transfer files in bulk. It's quick and easy, and is also a godsend when your website requires frequent updates or maintenance.

Double Check All Navigation and Outside Links

After your files are uploaded, your website is still not "live," meaning your domain is still pointing at your old host. But you can access your website using your host's server URL. It may look like this:

http://NewWebhostingCompany.com/~yourwebsite

Using this "backdoor" access, you can test that all your small business website files have been uploaded and in their proper folders, and assure that all links are working properly as well.

Point Your Domain Name Server (DNS) Setting to New Web Host

When you are ready to go "live," you need to point the DNS to your new web host's servers. Your new host will provide you with the proper nameserver information, and there are usually two of them. You will need to log on to your domain registrar and input both Nameserver1 and Nameserver2 and save the settings. It usually takes up to 48 hours for this domain "pointer" to become active.

Double Check Your New Host is Live

To make sure that your small business website is "live" on your new web host, you can easily upload a special note on your homepage that is only on the file uploaded to the new host. When that note is seen when you type in your URL domain, then you know the change is complete.

Cancel Old Hosting Account

One important thing to mention is to never notify your old host that you are changing hosting service, or close your account before the change is complete. Some hosts may practice "dirty business" and shut down your account before your new account is live.

However, once your domain is properly pointed to the new host, go ahead and contact your old host to let them know about your cancellation. Be sure that if you set up an auto withdrawal type of payment, it is turned off as well so they do not try to improperly charge you.

Do you use a social media strategy to help promote your small business? There's a 50/50 chance you aren't. According to a recent study conducted and published by Hiscox, a business insurance specialty company, an astonishing number of small business owners stated they do not have a social media strategy for their business.

In fact 47%, almost half, of all small businesses do not use social media for any business purpose at all. When we know that a sound social media marketing strategy can help small businesses acquire additional business and customers and subsequently increase sales, that number is certainly surprising.

What's even more surprising is that of the 53% of small business owners who do use a social media strategy for their business, 43% of them stated that it was not necessary for their business. Only 24% of those said they use social media only when they have the time. 14% of small business owners stated they do not know enough about social media to make it worthwhile. And only a minority 12% stated that social media marketing is a "must", and they do it frequently.

Benefits of Social Media for Small Business

For those unfamiliar with how social media works or don't know enough about it, what are the benefits of social media marketing? The benefits are many, but here are just a few of the most popular ones:

• Virtual word of mouth - Word of mouth is how many small businesses add to their clientele or customer base. Social media marketing is an excellent platform for small businesses to spread the word about their company by leveraging the viral aspect of online, electronic updates.
• Find and form strategic partnerships - Small business owners can join forces with other owners to accomplish a common goal. Social media platforms allow small business owners to connect and engage with other owners with common aspirations, goals and objectives and help each other to reach those goals by creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
• Improve PR - You are in charge of your small business' public relations strategy. Use social media to help improve your public profile and online image. You can boost your overall image through social media outlets by making yourself available to your clients and prospects, responding to their comments and concerns quickly and professionally and answering their questions. Once your small business' social profile is up, don't just avoid your fans or ignore their requests as that will quickly tarnish your online image and you will likely lose your customer base.
• Free advertising - Ultimately, social media is free! All it takes is a little understanding of how each one works and a little time. You will need to experiment with all the various platforms and identify where your customers are.

Social Media You Should Be Using Now

Hopefully, you are part of the 53% of small business owners who utilize social media to grow your business. But even if you are part of the 47% who think social media has no purpose at all, but are willing to try, there are a few social media channels that are a "must" for any business, large or small. Here they are:

Facebook
By far, Facebook has over 500 million active users worldwide. To bring that number more to home, that's over half a billion. The potential to reach current, past, and potential customers on Facebook is astoundingly positive for any small business owner. Even if you are just looking to find more local neighborhood regulars, chances are they are on Facebook.

Set up a Facebook page for your small business and start making friends and followers. You can offer exclusive deals and promotions to your Facebook followers, and utilize the viral aspect of Facebook to get your business name in front of new customers.

Twitter
Twitter also has hundreds of millions of active users. While on Facebook you can set up a "home base" page, Twitter is more of a micro-blogging site. That means you simply submit short updates (140 characters or less) to your Twitter followers.

Twitter can also be help you in a viral aspect. When you "tweet" something that your followers like, they will re-tweet it to their followers, and so on. This makes it a great way to reach a lot of people fast.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is more of a professional networking social site and acts more like a social "directory". But with over 120 million professionals and individuals listed on LinkedIn, it is a priceless tool, especially if your small business is a B2B.

Set up your professional LinkedIn profile, and use the site to join groups and make other contacts. In addition to potentially finding clients and customers, your LinkedIn contacts could even help you when you are hiring new staff.

Company Blog
Your small business website should have a blog section. This is where you will tell your visitors more about your company in brief updates, usually about 300-500 words in length. Promote your upcoming sales. Highlight management and/or staff. Your blog is a keen way to get visitors to return, not to mention increasing your SEO profile and rank with major search engines.

As with any business process, you need to understand the pros and cons of each method so you can make better business choices. Social media is a relatively new form of marketing, and it has proven effective for both small and large companies. However, in order for social media marketing to be effective for you, know what it is you want from it in terms of payoff, and know what you are willing to give up in terms of resources and allocation.

To get a better idea of whether social media marketing is right for your small business we present a list of benefits and cons related to business use.

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Wide Reach of Target Market
When it comes to finding an effective marketing channel, social media offers you the potential to reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Facebook alone touts over half a billion users. Twitter has over 100 million active users each day.

Using the classic sales conversion of about 1% to 5% of sales from marketing efforts, you can see that with such large numbers, you can increase the number of buyers for your product or service. But you must make the efforts to reach your target audience of each social media channel.

It's Free
Social media sites allow you to create an account for free. Posting to those accounts is free. And free marketing is always a good thing.

But even though social media marketing may not cost you dollars out of your coffers, you still need to approach your marketing strategy as if you were paying for it.

Better SEO Ranking
Search engines have become one of the most popular ways for customers to find the products and services they need. With a few simple search words, your business can pop up on search results...and you have found an instant customer.

Now that major search engines like Google and Yahoo! have access to search content on social channels like Twitter and Facebook, you can improve your SEO through the updates you post on your social media accounts.

Improve Customer Relations
Social media has proven to be a successful way for any size of business to build and maintain customers. It gives you an opportunity to engage with customers with your interactions. Why do you think it's called "Social" media?

Through your social media channels you can spark discussions, obtain market research data by asking opinions and feedback, improve how you handle complaints and returns, and even form positive strategic relationships with other businesses.

Positive Branding
Branding is an ongoing marketing effort. And while branding through regular marketing channels can be challenging, you can easily improve your business identity through social media. That means using your business name, logo, and slogan on every social media account. It also means getting your business name in front of the right people, or your target market, so your business is more recognized.

CONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Time Consuming
By far the biggest disadvantage to using social media as a marketing channel is the amount of time required to make it successful. While any marketing effort requires time and effort to make it work, social media is unique in that you must maintain practically a daily effort to write posts and updates, respond to comments, and review results of previous updates.

Time Waster
Another disadvantage is the fact that whoever does your social media management could get "sucked" into the time warp of these channels. It is amazingly easy to read all your followers' & fans' updates, follow links to outside websites, etc, and find that 3 or 4 hours have mysteriously disappeared. You must maintain discipline in your time commitment in order to make social media work for your small business.

Lost in the Crowd
Another big complaint that small businesses have about social media is due to the sheer numbers of people and businesses using them. You can easily get lost within the millions of other commercial accounts and find it difficult to gain visibility to your target market. But again, social media requires you to form a sound strategy and review results to improve your efforts. That is the only way you can avoid getting lost among the cyber world of social media marketing.