Tag Archives: Ramon Ray

14 Technology Experts Worth Following On Twitter

Technology is an even bigger factor in achieving small business goals than ever before.  But the explosion of information about so many aspects of technology makes it hard to form conclusions and make decisions about the right tech tools for your business, (especially, if you’re not a techie.) From social media to cloud systems or the best scheduling software there’s lots to choose from.  Here are 14 technology experts on Twitter worth your follow.

Pete Cashmore is founder of Mashable, “largest independent online news site dedicated to covering digital culture, social media and technology.” Mashable provides the latest headlines on those topics in bite-sized summaries with links you can follow for the full story.

Mario Armstrong is America’s TV Tech dude. He’s a Radio & TV Host, and Emmy winner. He is regularly featured on CNN, HLN, TODAY show! and SiriusXM Radio. He’s also a speaker, entrepreneur, and Founder of TechTechBoom! He  tweets about technolog,y small business & his busy life! http://marioarmstrong.com

Lisa Barone is well known for making her opinions plain, and for the work she’s done promoting brands as co-founder of Outspoken Media. She regularly writes for smallbiztrends.com on all things tech. She tweets around the clock about social media and internet marketing.

Ramon Ray is a journalist, technology evangelist & editor of Smallbiztechnology.com, author of “Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses” & “Technology Resources for Growing Businesses” and a national speaker.  Ramon brings his unique dose of humor, insight and “practical home advise” to thousands of small business owners on technology issues. advice to twitter daily. I love his tweets.

Jenna Wortham is a New York Times tech reporter with a huge Twitter following. Her enthusiasm is infectious as she tweets about tech trends, gadgets, and industry stories.

Lena West is CEO and Chief of Influence Expansion is an award-winning social media consultant, founder of the social media course Real Women Do Social Media. Lena is always straight-talking and bold, with a solid technical and practical background to back her up. She writes and tweets about how to use social media for your business needs.

TJ McCue writes for his blog Tech Biz Talk which provides reviews of web-based software (mostly), tips, tutorials, and how-to for the top applications to take your company and business to the next level.  He also writes tech reviews for Forbes, Open Forum, Smallbiztrends and Dun and Bradstreet’s AllBusiness.com

Cali Lewis Host of GeekBeat.TV, an online news show about technology gadgets and research. The show is downloaded millions of times each month by viewers from around the world.  She’s a Tech correspondent for CNN, FOX and Sirius 101′s GeekTime.  I think she’s one of the most effective users of Google+ I’ve ever seen.

Veronica Belmont is a San Francisco-based video host of @Tekzilla who made her start with CBS Interactive as an on-air talent and producer. She tweets about gadgets, gaming, video production to her 1 million-plus Twitter following, and blog readers.

Guy Kawasaki,is founder of AllTop, is a venture capitalist and among the best-known brands on Twitter. As the co-founder of AllTop (a collective of headlines of many topics, including tech) and Garage Technology Ventures, Guy is found tweeting about many of the newest gadgets and tech tools to be found online.

Maisha Walker is founder and president of Message Medium, a web design and internet strategy firm for businesses as large as AOL/Time Warner as well as small businesses and solopreneurs. She is known as “The Internet Strategist” at Inc. Magazine.  She tweets about her expertise on online business growth and strategy.

Christopher Penn is the Director of Strategy and Innovation at WhatCounts email marketing and co-founder of Chris Brogan’s PodCamp, co-host of Marketing over Coffee, and professor of Internet marketing at the University of San Francisco online. He tweets the five most interesting digital marketing tech news stories he can find every day. His current outlook on the tech and marketing, reviews and interviews with other tech and marketing experts, and more appear at his own blog.

Stanford Smith of Pushing Social is one of the top social media bloggers on Twitter, with constant updates on what works and what doesn’t on WordPress, Twitter and other social media platforms. The Michigan-based VP of Marketing at Fluency Media always has the apps, tools, and gadgets to make social media more productive for your needs.

Adria Richards of But You’re A Girl is a San Francisco-based organic technology consultant and speaker about various tech fields. She helps businesses and other organizations increase productivity and profit from tech tools in daily business operations. She tweets about technology, business, news, and more.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small businessMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Improve your Small Business Website

How to Improve your Small Business Website

 

Each week as @Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChatThis post is excerpted from my #SmallBizChat interview with @ramonray. Ramon Ray is technology evangelist at smallbiztechnology.com; a former tech consultant; hands on tech expert; frequent speaker including Inc. 500 and SmallBizTrends; a frequent writer of more than 7,000+ blog posts; and is frequently quoted in the media – including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and beyond.

Smallbizlady:  Why are websites so important in this age of social media?

Ramon Ray: YES. Websites are still the main gateway through which most consumers (business and individuals) explore and get information about a company

Smallbizlady: Should every business have a website?

Ramon Ray: YES. I think that every business should have a website, but some businesses a website is more important than others. Local restaurants, clothing stores and insurance salespersons, for example, do much of their business through person to person referrals, so a website is less important than a company who receives 10% + of their sales leads or actual sales online.
Smallbizlady: How long to do have to make an impression on a new visitor to your website?

Ramon Ray: It’s seconds…just like in real life…people will NOT stay for minutes if they don’t like your website. 

Smallbizlady: Can you explain what a tagline is and why it’s important to a website?

Ramon Ray: A tagline what appears on your header and it is what you want people to know about your business the second they arrive at your website.  It’s even more important if your URL for your website is not reflective of what you do.

Smallbizlady: Should everyone be using a WordPress platform for their website so they are not help captive by a web developer?

Ramon Ray: For those who frequently want to update their website with CONTENT a “wordpress-type” platform is best and easiest; but for more complex websites sometimes a bit of complexity is needed – hence web developer is the best way to go.

Smallbizlady: What are some ways a business can improve their websites?

Ramon Ray: Some businesses have web sites that are merely digital brochures, while these are “ok” they should consider adding tools to their web site, as relevant to their business, that enables their web site to be proactive. For example, FAQ’s, discussion boards, white papers, live chat, “call me now” buttons, and other tools can all help.

Smallbizlady: What about blogs vs websites?

Ramon Ray: While every business should have a website every business should also have a blog which can add life and content to their web site. This is critical.

Smallbizlady: There are many companies that have template services for creating web sites. How do they stack up against a professional web designer?

Ramon Ray: Template services are great if you are on a very tight budget and want something designed fast. However, nothing beats the one on one and professional advice of a professional designer. The challenge is that they are often expensive, sometimes not charging less than $3,000 – $5,000 just to accept an engagement.

Smallbizlady: How can one integrated social media with websites?

Ramon Ray: Use your website as a foundation to host lengthy articles, videos, blog posts and others things. Use social media to foster discussion and drive traffic to the elements on your web site. Also have social media specific content, which is for your social media site only.

Smallbizlady: How often should websites be refreshed?

Ramon Ray: I think on an annual basis you should look at how to refresh your site. On a quarterly basis you should look at your site and your competition to see what they are doing that you should or should not do.

Smallbizlady: Should businesses make their websites compatible for mobile devices such as cell phones or the iPad?

Ramon Ray: Larger companies who have large and a diverse audience must do this. But smaller businesses can take their time and first see who their audience is. If you are a flower shop, for example, and your customers want to order from their phones, you should consider developing a mobile website.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. How to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e
For more tips on starting or growing your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com
Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, the Tavis Smiley Radio Show, in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur and Black Enterprise Magazine. She hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs and publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

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Tune in to Smallbizchat with Smallbizlady on Twitter

Who’s Coming Up on #SmallBizChat in August 2010?

Hot topics and great guests for August #SmallBizChat:

  • August 4 @ramonray Ramon Ray Topic:  How to Improve Your Small Business Website
  • August 11th @ElenaVerlee Elena Verlee Topic: PR for Newbie Small Business Owners
  • August 18th @CorpNet Philip Aklap CEO  Topic:  How to Select a Small Business Lawyer
  • August 25th @DarnyelleJervey Darnyelle Jervey Topic:  How to Make Sure Your Passion has a Profit Center

SmallBizChat is the Wednesday weekly Twitter chat – focused on everything that small business owners need to know about running and sustaining their business. Hosted by Melinda Emerson, The Small Biz Lady; follow @smallbizchat for updates via Twitter.  How to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, the Tavis Smiley Radio Show, in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur and Black Enterprise Magazine. She hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs and publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.  Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

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