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Helping Local Entrepreneurs Find Success

Small Business Week 2016 is over and we’re happy to announce that the SCORE Small Business Summit Tulsa 2016 was a huge success! We got great feedback from presenters and attendees and already have requests to bring the summit back next year! Skynet Solutions partnered with SCORE to collectively collaborate with multiple other local and state sponsors to offer Tulsa area small business and prospective small business owners an unprecedented networking and learning opportunity. This action packed small business summit was a great opportunity for small business owners and prospective small business owners from around the Tulsa area to network with and hear presentations from influential local business leaders and get personalized business consulting in a variety of areas. We had about 100 local entrepreneurs, small business owners and prospective small business owners who all came out to network with and hear presentations from speakers with The Small Business Administration, Constant Contact, Tulsa Economic Development Corporation, the Tulsa chapter of SCORE, Skynet Solutions and REI Women’s Business Center. These awesome speakers presented on a variety of topics including email marketing, small business taxes, bookkeeping for small businesses, social media marketing, how to create a business plan, small business structuring, search engine optimization principles and much, much more! The number one question most small business owners have is about marketing and how they can best utilize marketing principles to drive their business. This event brought together a variety of marketing experts and mentors to talk to small business owners about different marketing tactics and how they work so business owners can see what will be most successful for their business. The great part of this event was that it allowed entrepreneurs to talk directly with the people they need to know to get their business off the ground or take it to the next level. Unlike some other industry events we’ve been to which have so-called “experts” with no real world experience explaining how business owners should secure loans or incarnate to get the best tax benefits, the SCORE Small Business Summit was full of industry experts who could give sound advice to curious business owners. If someone wanted to know what documents they would need to secure a small business loan, there was a lender there for them to ask directly. If someone wanted to know what was the best use of their marketing budget, there were social media and email marketing experts there for them to consult with. National Small Business Week Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, creating about two-thirds of all the new jobs creating in the United States each year. About 50 percent of Americans in the workforce own or are employed by a small business. This year, National Small Business Week was from May 1-7 and as part of this, Tulsa SCORE organized a day full of discussion, networking and other opportunities that benefitted the local small business community. The event was designed by small business owners, for small business owners to equip them with the information and tools they need to make their small business as successful as possible. The Tulsa area has increasingly been recognized as one of the best places in the country to start a business. We want to continue to help foster this business-friendly environment by working together with the local business community to provide entrepreneurs with the resources they need to be successful. To learn more about the events that Skynet Solutions participates in and hosts, you can keep up with our blog, follow us on social media or give us a call. In the meantime, you can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your online business listing, website development, marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. You can fill out our online contact formon our website to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+and LinkedIn!

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Marketing

SCORE Small Business Summit Tulsa 2016

We are excited to announce that Skynet Solutions is partnering with SCORE to collectively collaborate with local and state sponsors to offer Tulsa area small business and prospective small business owners an unprecedented networking and learning opportunity. As a part of National Small Business Week, SCORE and Skynet Solutions are putting on the SCORE Small Business Summit Tulsa 2016! This action packed small business summit will be an opportunity for small business owners and prospective small business owners from around the Tulsa area to network with and hear presentations from influential local business leaders and get personalized business consulting in any area of their business that needs improvement, from marketing and bookkeeping to taxes and incorporation. This will be an all-day event on Tuesday, May 3, with dozens of sessions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is going to be held in downtown Tulsa at 36 Degrees North. This is shaping up to be the biggest event ever held at 36 Degrees North, Tulsa’s basecamp for entrepreneurs, and was created by small business owners, specifically for small business owners to tell them exactly what they need to know to be as successful as possible. The event is structured in a way that makes it easy for working people to make it to many of the events without having to disrupt their workday. Whether you are a longtime small business owner or are just now looking to start the business you’ve always been dreaming about, there’s something of value and interest at this summit for everyone. You’ll have the opportunity to talk directly with the people you need to talk with to secure a business loan, get tax advice, start a non-profit, figure out how to structure your business and more! Best of all, the summit is completely free. We encourage everyone to register (we’ve had a lot of interest from entrepreneurs around the Tulsa area) to make sure you are able to make it to all the sessions you want to go to at your preferred time. Here are some examples of the great mentors and speakers that will be available to you at the summit, as well as a new of the seminar topics. Network with and hear speakers from: The Small Business Administration Constant Contact Tulsa Economic Development Corporation Tulsa SCORE Skynet Solutions REI Women’s Business Center Seminar topics include: Bookkeeping for Small Businesses Email Marketing How to Create a Business Plan Search Engine Optimization Small Business Structuring Social Media Marketing Small Business Taxes And much more! Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. This year, National Small Business Week is May 1-7 and as part of this, Tulsa SCORE has organized a day full of discussion, network and other opportunities to benefit the local small business community. The number one question small businesses’ have is about marketing and how they can best utilize marketing principles to drive their business. This event brings together a variety of marketing experts to talk to small business owners about different marketing tactics and how they work so business owners can see what will be most successful for their business. You can visit the SCORE Small Business Summit Tulsa 2016 event page to register, get more information, get driving directions to the event, contact information and to see the full schedule of events. We hope to see you there on Tuesday, May 3! To learn more about the events that Skynet Solutions participates in and hosts, you can keep up with our blog, follow us on social media or give us a call. In the meantime, you can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your online business listing, website development, marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. You can fill out our online contact form on our website to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!

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Marketing

11 Apps Every Marketing Pro Needs

Alushta, Russia - October 25, 2014: New phone iPhone 6 Space Gray with apps on screen lies on the table. iPhone 6 was created and developed by the Apple inc.

As every marketing and social media professional knows, managing a successful marketing campaign is a 24/7 job. No matter what kind of campaign you’re running, you need these 11 apps to keep you organized, connected and ahead of the curve, no matter where you are: Hootsuite/Buffer/Sprout Social:whichever social media scheduling tool your company uses, make sure you have the app so you can schedule social media posts anytime and anywhere. You can also follow up on already posted posts to see their reach and respond to any comments. Mention:this is one of the best social listening tools available and should be a staple for every social media marketer. Mention tracks your brand’s—you guessed it—mentions all over the web from blog and social media posts to website content and anywhere else you show up based on preset keywords you select. It’s a great way to stay on top of what customers, competitors and leaders in your industry are saying about your brand and how your name is getting out there. MailChimp:we love MailChimp for email management and running email campaigns and the mobile app makes it easy to manage email lists, view statistics and edit campaigns from anywhere. Evernote:if you don’t have Evernote yet, it’s time to take the plunge. It’s basically the ultimate to-do list which automatically syncs between all your devices. You can take a note on your tablet while you’re at home and it’ll show up on your work desktop, your smartphone, anywhere you need it. You can also save pictures of a hand-written note or list and Evernote will extrapolate the relevant information from it. If you upgrade to Pro or Premium, you can also store emails, voice memos and access your info offline. GoToMeeting:this is a great way to stay connected with your office and with clients while you’re on the go and to meet with clients who are far away. GoToMeeting not only allows multiple people to conference from multiple locations, but it also allows you to share screen so you can see each other’s presentations. Nimble:this contact-managing app integrates your connections on social media to your phone’s contact list. It will suggest new social media accounts for you to friend or follow based on your contacts and will also add more detail to each of your contact’s listings in your phone based on their social media profiles. News:pick your favorite news source, whether it’s Mashable or The New York Times or BuzzFeed and download their app. Check it routinely to keep on top of the day’s big stories and find interesting things to share that are relevant to your audience. WiFi Finder:when you’re in a time crunch and you need to find a place to get work done, this app will show you where the nearest free (and paid) WiFi networks are to your current location. Eventbrite:if your company hosts any kind of event or conference, Eventbrite is an easy way to manage registration and track attendees. It also makes it easy for people who come to your events to register and find information like time, location and directions. Google AdWords:Google released a Google AdWords app last year that allows you to manage pay-per-click campaigns from your phone. We won’t say it makes AdWords fun, but it is nice to be able to check your campaigns from anywhere. Official Apps for Social Media Sites:this one should be a no-brainer, but we’ll add it in anyway. You should download the official app for every type of social media site you manage. There are apps for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat, Tumblr, Vine and literally every other social media network in existence. If your social media accounts are getting too tangled for you to manage, you can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for all of your social media and marketing needs. We also have a talented development team who can build you anything from a basic website to custom software. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. To get in touch with us, you can fill out the online contact form on our website. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

Categories
Marketing

Social Media Hacks: Getting Your Business on Pinterest

When it comes to marketing, Pinterest really has it all. While many people write it off as a virtual corkboard only used by teenage girls, the statistics prove it’s a social media heavyweight. Did you know one-third of all the existing Pinterest accounts belong to men? And unlike on other platforms, promoted pins actually perform just as well as, and often better than, organic pins. And pins with prices attached aren’t a turn off at all. In fact, they get 36 percent more likes than pins without prices. It really is a marketing paradise. So here’s how you get started: Strategize: like with any other social media platform—or any marketing strategy—you don’t want to go in shooting blindly. You need to design a comprehensive strategy, set tangible goals and figure out your target demographic. Side note: reading this blog post does not count as designing a comprehensive strategy, sorry. If you have other social media platforms, you have already done this before and can adapt it to fit your Pinterest account. When creating a strategy, take into account the product or service you are selling, the people you want to sell to and how you want them to come to you (do you want them to end up in your brick and mortar store, or do you only need them to go so far as your website). Sign up: you can sign specifically as a business and get special business tools only available to business accounts. You can also check out their “success stories” tab and look at the accounts of businesses that have been really successful on Pinterest. See what they’re doing and adapt it to fit your strategy—with social media, the best way to learn is often by example. Find people to follow: competitors, customers, suppliers, industry leaders…all these are great accounts to follow. And they apply no matter what industry you’re in—you definitely have competitors, customers, suppliers and industry leaders no matter your field. Also, make sure to follow some fun, funny stuff. Everybody likes a good cat meme now and then. So make sure to follow funny boards—even if they don’t relate to your business—and repin their pins from time-to-time. Trust us, your customers will love it. Create your first boards: you can make them about anything you want. Your boards can be funny or inspirational. They can feature your products, creative ways to use your products or tutorials. You can create boards about things that you are passionate about or about other things your business is involved with. Do you and your employees take time to volunteer at the humane society? Make a puppy board. Remember, this is a marketing tool, but it is also an opportunity to let customers interact with you and get to know you and your company. Use your Pinterest not only as a sales tool but as a way to humanize your brand. Start pinning and repining: there are lots of ways to make Pinterest easier on yourself. You can purchase promoted pins (similar to promoted Facebook posts or tweets) that will show up in pinners feeds even if they don’t follow you. They use a tailored algorithm to make sure your promoted pins show up in the feeds of customers who would be interested in your product. You can also install the pin it browser tool, which lets you pin things directly from a webpage, without having to save links and images and find them later. Also, make sure to install a “pin-it” tab on your website to let all your customers know you are now on Pinterest and enable them to pin material from your site to their boards. Make sure to repin—interacting with your customers and followers makes them more likely to continue to interact with you and use your business in the future. Start selling: as a side note—if you are a retail business, you can also sell products on Pinterest. Yes, you can redirect customers to your website from your Pinterest profile, but you run the risk of losing a buyer when you do that. If you let people buy your products in app, you will see increased sales. Check your analytics: since you signed up as a business, Pinterest will give you customized analytics reports about your account. Take advantage of this. These analytics reports make it much easier to track your account, new followers, repins and more and see if you’re hitting your goals set out in the first step.  In the meantime, you can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for all of your social media and marketing needs. We have an expert team that can build you a social media strategy that will work on any platform or combination of platforms that you choose. Whether you’re targeting specific customers or just want to get the word out about your new business, we can handle it. We also have a talented development team who can build you anything from a basic website to custom software. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. To get in touch with us, you can fill out the online contact form on our website. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

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