Smartbrief on Pinterest, facebook, customer service

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From: SmartBrief on Small Business <smallbusiness@smartbrief.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 10:40 PM
Subject: How to develop your business' Pinterest strategy

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September 4, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise Problem. Solved.  Are you driving wasted ad space? If your business has a truck, it might make sense to add advertising to it as a company called Zinger Hardware has done, M.P. Mueller of Door Number 3 writes. That company's truck features some humorous copy warning carjackers that "all you'll find inside are priceless diamonds and bags of money" instead of Zinger merchandise. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/You're The Boss blog (8/29)       Get More with The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN. EARN 25,000 MEMBERSHIP REWARDS® POINTS by spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of Card membership†. PLUS GET 40+ PREMIUM BENEFITS: • Complimentary Airport Club Access • Annual $200 Airline Fee Credit for any Airline • 24/7 personal concierge LEARN MORE                                           †Terms and Restrictions Apply. Marketing  4 types of content you can share via social media If you're looking for content for social media marketing, consider sharing photographs of products, employees or business events, Janine Popick of VerticalResponse writes. "Research has shown that pictures or videos posted to social networks get the highest degree of engagement," she notes. Also, post your press releases and consider offering special deals to your followers. Inc. online (free registration) (8/31)       How to develop your business' Pinterest strategy You can determine how best to use Pinterest by identifying the philosophy of your company, Jess Loren and Ed Swiderski write in an excerpt from "Pinterest for Business." It might help to define your philosophy if you think of your brand as a car or as a celebrity, they write. Also, figure out what your competitors are doing, they recommend. Entrepreneur online (8/31)       Management  Tips for tracking, documenting intermittent leave under FMLA Handling intermittent leave requests under the Family Medical Leave Act can be a challenge, but with a little information and organization, you can get it right, according to this article. For example, employers can ask about the specific serious health condition for the leave, but cannot ask about general health or other issues. BusinessManagementDaily.com (8/30)       Leadership techniques to rebuild employees' trust The recent recession has eroded employees' faith in company management, but it is possible for leaders to regain this trust. Leaders should remain calm, get straight to the point and allow employees to take risks, according to George Kohlrieser, author of "Care to Dare: Unleashing Astonishing Potential Through Secure Base Leadership." Chief Learning Officer online (8/31)       Money  Getting the right insurance to protect your business Depending on the needs of your business, you might want to get Employment Practices Liability Insurance or life insurance for key individuals, according to Dusty Farber of CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services. It's generally a better idea to work with a full-service provider instead of several separate agents, Farber notes. Intuit Small Business Blog (8/31)       Tips & Tools  2 tips for better customer service via e-mail Knowing how and when to ask open and closed questions is the key to providing effective customer service via e-mail, Rachel Miller writes. Such questions can narrow down the problem and help find a quick solution. It's also important to show customers the value of sharing information so they will provide complete and honest answers, she explains. B2C Marketing Insider (8/30)       Facebook's resources for small businesses Facebook's recently updated business site provides useful resources, including best practices and assistance to get started on advertising, Monika Jansen writes. It also includes stories about brands that have had success on the platform. NetworkSolutions.com (8/31)       Save money in your tech budget by avoiding these unnecessary expenses PCWorld Business Center (8/30)       Featured Content  4 Secrets to Pitching Your Product The 5 Worst Customer Service Mistakes Workforces in the Female Future Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Lessons From a Professional Organizer Free Productivity Tools to Fit Your Personality How to Keep Your Employees Happy Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Most Read  Top five news stories selected by SmartBrief on Small Business readers in the past week. Meet the top ultrabook options for business users (PCWorld Business Center) 6 tips for tracking the marketing metrics that matter (GreatB2BMarketing.com) Common mistakes business owners make when they set out to cut costs (Entrepreneur online) How to deduct the use of a vehicle for business purposes (Fox Business Small Business Center) How to boost your business' revenue (USA TODAY) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Just for Fun  Want to be beautiful? Drink whiskey, and don't wash your face A 19th century encyclopedia includes some unusual advice for women hoping to "retain the adoration of husbands" by making themselves beautiful. Among the top tips: Rinse your eyes out with soap, eat sugar soaked in whiskey and perfume and be sure never to wash your face. MentalFloss.com (8/30)       SmartQuote  When you have a good teacher, a good leader, they're always looking for talent." --George Kohlrieser, business professor and author of "Care to Dare: Unleashing Astonishing Potential Through Secure Base Leadership," as quoted by Chief Learning Officer online       SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! Accounting Advertising Automotive Aviation & Aerospace Biotechnology Business Chemicals Construction & Real Estate Consumer Packaged Goods Distribution Education Energy Finance Food Service Health Care Insurance Legal Manufacturing Media & Entertainment Nonprofit Retail Technology Telecommunications Travel & Hospitality This SmartBrief was created for profjorge.entrep@gmail.com John Jantsch, Editor at Large John Jantsch is author of "Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide" and "The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself." John is a marketing and digital technology coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small-business marketing system. 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