If you are in business it’s important to spend some time building a great business connection base, but how are you currently doing it?

If you are still networking your way across all of the golf courses throughout the country, and attending as many networking functions as possible in the evenings, there maybe a smarter way to meet new business contacts, and probably more your target market. LinkedIn.

I‘ve written many articles on building your connection base and networking within the groups on LinkedIn in the past, so let’s take a look at a way that you may not have thought about.

In your news feed, you will find interesting posts that your LinkedIn connections are sharing with their connections; people you possibly don’t know even exist at this stage. So how can you meet some of them? By commenting and liking, just as you do on Facebook.

By commenting on ... Continue reading]]>

If you are in business it’s important to spend some time building a great business connection base, but how are you currently doing it?

If you are still networking your way across all of the golf courses throughout the country, and attending as many networking functions as possible in the evenings, there maybe a smarter way to meet new business contacts, and probably more your target market. LinkedIn.

I‘ve written many articles on building your connection base and networking within the groups on LinkedIn in the past, so let’s take a look at a way that you may not have thought about.

Your LinkedIn news feed

In your news feed, you will find interesting posts that your LinkedIn connections are sharing with their connections; people you possibly don’t know even exist at this stage. So how can you meet some of them? By commenting and liking, just as you do on Facebook.

By commenting on your connections posts, you are doing two things:

1. You are putting yourself back on the radar of your connection, a bit like seeing them in the street and waving “hi”. How many times have you seen someone somewhere and thought, “Ah, must give him or her a bell”?
2. When you comment on a connections post, the post including your comment is then shared in the news feed for your other connections to see. This means, if one of your connections comments on your post, the whole thing is shared on their newsfeed for their connections to see. Greater exposure for your message / comment across another network.

From your home page, you can decide whether you want to see the most recent posts, the top posts or the shared posts, which ever suits you.

What can you comment on?

Anything that you have a sensible answer for, or the expertise to add value to a post. It’s not a mechanism to post links back to your product or service, which will just annoy your connections and probably get you unconnected from. Add value, and personality if appropriate.

Remember also, each time you comment in an open LinkedIn group, that message is also posted into the news feed, so you and others can see lively discussions in groups and head over to add your piece.

This subtle online exercise is an additional way to network with others, putting yourself on your connections radar, and at the same time, exposing yourself to new connections; connections that one-day may be very valuable to you.  And it takes moments to do.

Next time you look at your Facebook news feed, don’t forget to check your LinkedIn newsfeed too; it may be more yielding for your business.

Linda Coles | Speaker, Consultant and Author – Blue Banana

There’s an old adage: It’s not what you know—it’s who you know. But when we are starting out in business, our networks are often limited, consisting of former colleagues, friends and family. And while these people will help get you on your way, very few of us can rely entirely on them for business success. That’s where networking comes in.

In today’s social-media-powered age, there are plenty of things you can do to connect with others online. For example, you can use a combination of social media platforms to begin building your networks:

If a company incurs a loss from 2012-2013 onwards, they may claim a refund based on prior year profits and taxes paid. For 2012-2013 you may go back 1 year and for losses incurred from 2013-2014 onwards, you can claim a refund going back two years. The business can only claim up to $1 million in losses which equates to a $300,000 refund for each loss year (refunds limited to the balance of a company’s franking account).

Let’s look at an example

Hennie runs a child minding business. The business, a company, has had a trading profit of $100,000 per annum, resulting in Hennie paying ... Continue reading]]> What is the new “Loss carryback” scheme which was mentioned in the budget last week? I have been asked by many LiveAccounts users and partners, so I thought I would jot down my thoughts on what this is and how it could help you when funds are tight.

If a company incurs a loss from 2012-2013 onwards, they may claim a refund based on prior year profits and taxes paid. For 2012-2013 you may go back 1 year and for losses incurred from 2013-2014 onwards, you can claim a refund going back two years. The business can only claim up to $1 million in losses which equates to a $300,000 refund for each loss year (refunds limited to the balance of a company’s franking account).

Let’s look at an example

Hennie runs a child minding business. The business, a company, has had a trading profit of $100,000 per annum, resulting in Hennie paying $30,000 in tax.  During 2013-2014, Hennie had a health scare and had to employ extra staff to cover her absence. As a result, the business suffered a $200,000 loss. With the “loss carryback” scheme, Hennie can now go back 2 years (2011 -2012 & 2012-2013) and “carry back” the loss against the profitable years. In this scenario, Hennie should receive a $60,000 refund.

At this point in time, I am not aware on how the ATO is going to administer the new scheme and if there are any tricks, loop holes or gotcha clauses. This is just my take on the upcoming law, so please consult your accountant for further information.

Richard Puffe | Product Manager, LiveAccounts – MYOB

Be a Real Person

The ideal Twitter profile is extremely personable. Just like in the real world, people like talking to people. The follower counts and improved click-through rates tell us so. This also means having your profile as a picture, rather than your business logo.  Unless you are already very well known, it is a hard slog to get traction on Twitter while being an ‘anonymous’ brand profile.

If, for whatever reason, your company’s Twitter profile can’t be a person, the next best thing is to appoint individuals as your agents and ensure each one has a mention of the company in ... Continue reading]]> Are you a new citizen of the Twitterverse or struggling to get started?  There are a few governing ordinances that you need to have in place to truly become native. Twitter is not the new kid on the block, but it is a vital part of the social marketing mix.

Be a Real Person

The ideal Twitter profile is extremely personable. Just like in the real world, people like talking to people. The follower counts and improved click-through rates tell us so. This also means having your profile as a picture, rather than your business logo.  Unless you are already very well known, it is a hard slog to get traction on Twitter while being an ‘anonymous’ brand profile.

If, for whatever reason, your company’s Twitter profile can’t be a person, the next best thing is to appoint individuals as your agents and ensure each one has a mention of the company in their bio or on their Twitter backgrounds. Use initials or symbols to help people identify who is (tweeting). Vodafone Australia presents a great example.

Don’t just visit on weekends. Move in.

The most important element for success on Twitter is building deeper relationships. This means you have to have a consistent level of interaction with the network to make it work.  Twitter is probably the most time-intensive social media platform aside from ones where you create the content you share (e.g., blogging). You should aim to do at least three decent stretches of tweets per week. What does “decent” mean? Think of it this way: It is better to jump in and build a richer level of conversation a couple of times a week rather than skimming for five minutes a couple of times a day.

Be Targeted

Write down your ideal follower profile type. Be as specific as possible. Then carefully follow people based on that criteria. This ensures that the time you do spend on Twitter interacting is highly targeted and reaching the people you need to connect with. Services like Twellow let you follow people based on the information they have placed in their Twitter bios, such as their job titles or locations.

Extend Your Content

You should be producing a number of ‘thought leadership’ pieces as a backbone of any good social media strategy. For example, when my firm writes a press release, a new story, a case study or a blog post, we also create 4-6 original tweets based on that content. This approach helps ensures the story is shared.

Set up Alerts

To make the experience more effective, you should use a Twitter-like dashboard such as TweetDeck. Among other things, TweetDeck allows you to set up searches on your company, product or keywords in your industry. Every mention on Twitter shows up in your dashboard. This is where Twitter becomes the ultimate customer service channel. For something a little more comprehensive (but still free), also try socialmention.com.

Don’t Over Self-Promote

There is one sure way to make yourself an outcast in Twitterville: Only tweet about yourself. I am talking about ‘one-way,’ promotional tweets. Your Twitter residents won’t riot, but they will ignore you. The majority of your tweets should not be about you at all. Rather, they should be ‘@’ conversations aimed directly at people. You could follow an 8/10 format. For every 10 tweets, eight are conversations and interaction, and two can be promoting what you want.

If you are anything like me, traditional networking makes you cringe. When I found Twitter, this all changed. The key here is encouraging people, re-tweeting them, and responding with genuine conversation or help.

Back in 2010, I started Meet a Tweet a Week. I try to meet at least one new Twitter friend in real life, per week. How have you approached Twitter?

Natalie Giddings | Queen Bee at Pollen Marketing

Flight of fancy *

Last month I did myself out of another $6000.

I hate it when that happens.

This chain of events (and my associated reasons and decisions) may save you from similar financial embarrassment.

Top job

A kind client extolled me to a plum prospect who needed help with an award submission. (Last year they came second.)

This job was so far up my alley, I took a torch to the briefing.

I’d done my homework and we hit it off at once.

Two hours later, my proposal (quote) was in their hands.

I waited.

Then waited some more.

Better deal?

Suddenly, an internationally successful author I’d been courting for 18 months finally offered me a shot at the title.

Would I like to proofread her new book?!

This amazing gig promised to rocket me to a breathtaking new level.

It wasn’t as lucrative as the award submission, but that prospect still hadn’t responded.

Dilemma

I was torn. Should I:

Self-help books are extremely popular. They’re a great friend of New Year resolutions, but with so much help around it’s a wonder that there is still so much help needed.

Turns out a lot of these publications and workshop handouts become what’s termed in the industry as ‘shelf help’ books. That’s because people buy them, collect them and then store them… never to look at them again.

I was shocked to learn that only a small percentage of people who people read these books, or attend motivational seminars or any kind of personal development events ever follow through on the advice they’ve received.

Of course it’s easy to feel motivated when you’re in a high energy positive environment, or when you’re relaxing at the end of the day reading for an hour before bed – but the challenge is to implement the advice when you aren’t feeling so upbeat.

People who read a self-help ... Continue reading]]>

Self-help books are extremely popular. They’re a great friend of New Year resolutions, but with so much help around it’s a wonder that there is still so much help needed.

Turns out a lot of these publications and workshop handouts become what’s termed in the industry as ‘shelf help’ books. That’s because people buy them, collect them and then store them… never to look at them again.

I was shocked to learn that only a small percentage of people who people read these books, or attend motivational seminars or any kind of personal development events ever follow through on the advice they’ve received.

Of course it’s easy to feel motivated when you’re in a high energy positive environment, or when you’re relaxing at the end of the day reading for an hour before bed – but the challenge is to implement the advice when you aren’t feeling so upbeat.

People who read a self-help book or go to a seminar generally want something in their life to be different. The real question is whether they are prepared make the behavioural changes necessary to achieve it. If this sounds all-too-familiar make sure you spend as much time thinking about the process as you do the outcome.

It’s generally recognised that the difference between successful and unsuccessful people is the level of action they take.

What’s one extra action you could take to help you on your journey? Starting something? Finishing something? Or just taking a visit to the bookshelf?

Melina Schamroth | Social Entrepreneur – m.a.d.woman

What’s your social profile worth? Have you even thought about it? Is it growing in value? When you talk, do people listen?

With social reputation becoming more and more of a relevant form of currency, there are powers at play that are looking to exploit this new medium. In the past, it has all been about celebrity endorsement – getting the star of the day to put their name to a product. As the celebrity space becomes more and more distributed, thought the wonders of the increasingly social internet, a new generation of celebrities with social credibility are sprouting up.

The first online celeb to pop up through social is Tom Anderson; everyone’s first friend on MySpace. He, like it or not, was known if you were on MySpace. As time progressed and MySpace faded away, so did he. But now, with the resurgence of his profile on Google+, Facebook and Twitter, ... Continue reading]]>

What’s your social profile worth? Have you even thought about it? Is it growing in value? When you talk, do people listen?

With social reputation becoming more and more of a relevant form of currency, there are powers at play that are looking to exploit this new medium. In the past, it has all been about celebrity endorsement – getting the star of the day to put their name to a product. As the celebrity space becomes more and more distributed, thought the wonders of the increasingly social internet, a new generation of celebrities with social credibility are sprouting up.

The first online celeb to pop up through social is Tom Anderson; everyone’s first friend on MySpace. He, like it or not, was known if you were on MySpace. As time progressed and MySpace faded away, so did he. But now, with the resurgence of his profile on Google+, Facebook and Twitter, his reputation is again growing. He’s approachable, reads what you share with him, and according to Klout, has influence of almost 100K people. Klout understands social is potential currency, and is a platform aimed at measuring people’s online influence. According to Facebook, he has 1.2 Million subscribers who read his thoughts, but the smaller Klout number is based on how much he actually influences.

Now, there are many celebrities with roots from social, from tech circles (Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Rose) to real mainstream – Justin Bieber, Rebecca Black, Perez Hilton; all started via social.

So, are their opinions worth anything? While not the traditional celebrity, they certainly have influence and people take their endorsement seriously. Perhaps fewer fans than your traditional celebrity, but in terms of identifying a niche, what these guys say can carry real weight. How much value can they add to a company if they say ‘check it out, it’s really cool’. And, enter Wahooly – a start-up that is aiming to give people with influence (yourself included, if you connect with enough people online) a chance to own stock in other start-ups to help get them off the ground and exposure. Essentially, companies are buying endorsements from regular people, which has potential to add a real sense of authenticity of an endorsement.

So, where is all this going? Does everyone have a price? When is it selling out, and when is it just a desire to help good ideas get off the ground (and getting a little kickback)?

I see a point in the future where what is said from a friend might just be an advert. It’s very guerrilla-marketing gone social.

Steven Wright | Web Developer – MYOB

You may think it odd to discuss an online tank game in a business blog.

Yet this product holds the Guinness World Record for player (read ‘customer’) engagement.

A feat achieved in its first year.

If we captured clients like this crew, we’d be sunning ourselves in the Bahamas right now.

Plus, it’s Russian!

So let’s take a look …

Economic victory

World of Tanks (WoT) is one out of the box. In fact, there is no box.

You download it. For free.

You can also play it for free.

Yet many players happily fork out tidy sums to play at ever higher levels.

Why? (I’m sure there’ll be PhD theses on this question.)

My player’s view is that WoT excels at creating fans.

Not just enthusiastic or ardent fans: rabid, welded-on fanatics.

The way WoT achieves this allegiance is:

Below is a tiny sample of WoT’s customer-related services and content.

Total war

WoT has its own television channel, ... Continue reading]]> A novel way to target clients.*

You may think it odd to discuss an online tank game in a business blog.

Yet this product holds the Guinness World Record for player (read ‘customer’) engagement.

A feat achieved in its first year.

If we captured clients like this crew, we’d be sunning ourselves in the Bahamas right now.

Plus, it’s Russian!

So let’s take a look …

Economic victory

World of Tanks (WoT) is one out of the box. In fact, there is no box.

You download it. For free.

You can also play it for free.

Yet many players happily fork out tidy sums to play at ever higher levels.

Why? (I’m sure there’ll be PhD theses on this question.)

My player’s view is that WoT excels at creating fans.

Not just enthusiastic or ardent fans: rabid, welded-on fanatics.

The way WoT achieves this allegiance is:

• Astonishingly imaginative.
• Mind-blowingly comprehensive.

Below is a tiny sample of WoT’s customer-related services and content.

Total war

WoT has its own television channel, replete with crazy Russian accents.

It offers tutorials, forums and specials.

There’s a wiki.

It promotes fan art and videos.

It holds competitions. Not just tournaments, but also treasure hunts and design challenges. Even … bake-offs!

WoT provides fan kits for evangelists to spread the word.

It even encourages partners to play.

In short, resistance is useless.

Military precision

Is this approach insanely over the top?

Da!

Is it devastatingly effective?

Absolut!

(24,000,000 tankers can’t be wrong.)

Game on

We may not be able to replicate this community blitzkrieg in our businesses.

But we can certainly close the range between ourselves and a global benchmark.

So what do you think of these crazy comrades? (Who, while making money hand over fist, are now developing World of Warplanes and World of Battleships.)

Winners are grinners.

Especially in business.

In the battle for customer hearts and minds,

what’s one more thing you could do

to win?

* Photo of me.

Paul Hassing, Soviet T-50-2 Light Tank Scout, Prokhorovka.

Paul Hassing | Founder & Senior Writer – The Feisty Empire

The latest technology revolution isn’t just under way, it’s about to get bigger.

Hot on the heels of the “consumerization” of IT is a new uprising, one poised to forever change how we use technology at work. Known as “Bring Your Own Device,” or BYOD, it promises to provide the workforce with increased flexibility and mobility while possibly lowering costs for IT departments.

The consumerization-of-IT revolution took place after technology devices marketed for personal use—most notably, smartphones and tablets—began being released and adopted faster than corporate IT groups could test, deploy and support them. People bought these devices in droves and brought them—iPhone and Android, iPad and Kindle Fire—to the office.

At many of those offices, IT departments long have controlled the network access and devices used by employees. The desktops, laptops and handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) issued to employees tend to be solid but unremarkable workhorses that reliably churn out email, reports, and presentations ... Continue reading]]>

The latest technology revolution isn’t just under way, it’s about to get bigger.

Hot on the heels of the “consumerization” of IT is a new uprising, one poised to forever change how we use technology at work. Known as “Bring Your Own Device,” or BYOD, it promises to provide the workforce with increased flexibility and mobility while possibly lowering costs for IT departments.

The consumerization-of-IT revolution took place after technology devices marketed for personal use—most notably, smartphones and tablets—began being released and adopted faster than corporate IT groups could test, deploy and support them. People bought these devices in droves and brought them—iPhone and Android, iPad and Kindle Fire—to the office.

At many of those offices, IT departments long have controlled the network access and devices used by employees. The desktops, laptops and handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) issued to employees tend to be solid but unremarkable workhorses that reliably churn out email, reports, and presentations for years despite taking a steady pounding. When selecting these devices, organizations placed top priority on durability and the ability to perform work tasks. Little thought was given to the devices’ weight or their ability to seamlessly integrate into a digital world where 24/7 connectivity blurs the lines between our personal and professional lives.

Many employees, enamored with sleek new smartphones and tablets that fulfill their digital desires, no longer are satisfied with the out-of-date, bulkier technology assigned by employers. These employees want to choose the devices they use at work, and they are willing to spend their own money to do so.

As IT teams put into place the tools and procedures to manage and support BYOD, a subtle but growing shift is taking place. IT departments not only are facilitating the new revolution, but they are also encouraging it.

That’s good, because BYOD is only going to get bigger. The next stage of the revolution will see people wanting to use their own laptops at work.

This trend will accentuate the many opportunities BYOD offers to organizations:

• BYOD reduces capital expenditures and inventory investment costs because organizations no longer have to keep spare computers and parts on hand.
• BYOD can lower support requirements, as the IT group becomes responsible only for facilitating a clean connection between those devices and the organization’s servers, instead of having to maintain, say, a battalion of BlackBerrys and a legion of laptops.
• BYOD, combined with cloud computing, simplifies software support. Once logged on, users work in a virtual-only environment, so IT departments no longer have to maintain an extensive list of applications nor be concerned with version control, no longer worrying about whether the new version of Office will be compatible with Caseware or whether the new Internet Explorer will work with document management plug-ins.
• BYOD allows for faster deployments of new technology because it dramatically shortens the time needed to test the new device, software or operating system. For example, in a traditional setup, IT departments would need at least a couple of weeks to test an iPad with a new operating system before deploying the iPads to employees. Computer operating systems would take even longer. A new version of Microsoft Office might require a year to fully test. With BYOD, IT has only to test the connectivity and basic usability of the device because the virtual environment itself is static and device agnostic.
• BYOD increases personal accountability for technology. People are much more invested in protecting a device that they have selected and paid for themselves. This should translate into fewer lost or destroyed devices that the organization must pay to replace.
• BYOD allows for the consolidation of devices. No one wants to carry around two phones, two tablets or two laptops—one for personal use, the other for business use. With BYOD, employees can use a single device to help manage the information overload of our personal and work lives.
• BYOD gives employees the opportunity to work with technology they like and know intimately. This increases employee efficiency and job satisfaction, which improves employee effectiveness.

While BYOD brings a lot of positives to the table, this revolution raises more than a few challenges as well. How do you secure your network when you have different kinds of devices connecting to it? How do you deal with security, privacy and legal concerns associated with employees being able to use personal devices to access or even download confidential client and customer data? Find answers to those questions and many more in an upcoming article.

David Smith | Director – Smithink 2020

With the countdown to the end of Financial Year officially on (just 52 sleeps to go!), it’s time for business owners around the nation to ensure all their books and accounts are in order so they start off FY2012-13 in tip top shape.  It’s also time for many to get prepared for the year ahead, and that includes preparing for several changes to tax compliance.

So are we ready?

It appears not.  During our recent business owner and management insights panel, we found that Australian business owners have significant knowledge ‘black spots’ about the many compliance updates being introduced in the new financial year (that’s right, the one that kicks off in under two months!), putting relationships with their employees and the ATO at risk.

Despite 69% of our panel participants describing themselves as confident that their business would be compliant with the 2012-13 compliance changes, further questioning revealed that we’re not as ... Continue reading]]>

With the countdown to the end of Financial Year officially on (just 52 sleeps to go!), it’s time for business owners around the nation to ensure all their books and accounts are in order so they start off FY2012-13 in tip top shape.  It’s also time for many to get prepared for the year ahead, and that includes preparing for several changes to tax compliance.

So are we ready?

It appears not.  During our recent business owner and management insights panel, we found that Australian business owners have significant knowledge ‘black spots’ about the many compliance updates being introduced in the new financial year (that’s right, the one that kicks off in under two months!), putting relationships with their employees and the ATO at risk.

Despite 69% of our panel participants describing themselves as confident that their business would be compliant with the 2012-13 compliance changes, further questioning revealed that we’re not as prepared as we think.  The study revealed that 45% of Australian SMEs were unaware of the removal of the flood levy, 18% weren’t aware that there were changes to the tax free threshold, 62% were in the dark about changes to the reporting of building and construction contractor payments and 13% didn’t know that the carbon tax was being introduced.  (If any of the above is a shock to you, it’s time to consult your accountant or financial advisor!)

So what does this mean for the engine room of our local economy? “Business operators who don’t gain an understanding of their knowledge deficits are at risk of paying too much tax or deducting too much tax from their employees’ pay packets in the new financial year. This could cause further time, money and paperwork burdens if these grey areas are not quickly attended to,” says our CEO, Tim Reed.  He believes that SMEs need easily digestible, easily accessible information about what’s changing, which is why we’re launching a range of online resources that will help navigate key EOFY compliance changes.  They’ll be available on our website later this month – so watch this space!

For now, here are key changes that should be on your radar.

• The flood levy is to be removed for individuals who were impacted during the last financial year.
• The carbon tax compensation measures for consumers will mean a payroll change for every employee to take into account the new tax thresholds.
• The tax-free threshold for individuals will increase significantly to $18,200 per year and will mean a payroll change for every employee.
• The low income tax offset will be reduced from $1,500 to $445 in 2012-13 (and to $300 in 2015-16).
• The superannuation changes passed as part of the Minerals Resources Rent Tax legislation could apply to some businesses’ staff. This legislation was passed in March but further detail is not yet available.
• The annual reporting of contractor payments to the ATO is due for the first time on 21 July 2013, for payments made in the 2012-13 financial year. Business owners in building and construction will need to ensure their systems are prepared to begin capturing this information from 1 July 2012.
• Pending legislation - The tax loss carry back scheme enables companies to carry back up to $1 million worth of losses to get a refund of tax paid in the previous year. From 1 July 2013, companies will be able to carry back up to $1 million worth of losses against tax paid up to two years earlier.

Are you confident that your business is ready for 2012-13 compliance changes?

Kristy Sheppard | Manager, Public Relations – MYOB