I Have Been So Wrong

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT;  I had this thought in my mind that we were very much alike and it was all about the solidarity but today I learned it isn't like that.  You can't imagine how hurtful it was for me to discover that only 2.86% of my blog readers like food AND drinks.

For your information, I like food and drinks and cookies are a favorite!  I encourage the other 97.14% of my readers to join the minority and say yes to food and drink in moderation.  :)

Georgianna Hardware Corporation

Grocery Store Fuel Points

Since I buy groceries and put gas in my car I use the fuel points offered from Kroger.  I usually get at least ten cents off of each gallon of gasoline that I buy.  I have even received thirty cents off!  Today my gas cost $2.14 per gallon.  Anything lower than the posted price helps make my day better but I've noticed a pattern recently.

My husband and son don't get the same satisfaction from using the fuel points as I do so I asked.

Me:  What's the big deal with using the fuel points here?

Son:  It's a huge hassle and doesn't save you that much money.

Me:  Swiping a card is a huge hassle?

Son:  It doesn't always scan properly.

Me:  But you save money.

Son:  It's a hassle.

I guess I was raised in a different time.  A penny saved is a penny earned time.  

Anyway, a friend pointed out to me that I get double fuel points if I purchase a gift card at Kroger.  I took her advice and that's probably how I got thirty cents off of each gallon of gas last month!

So I'm doing what everybody tells me is wrong to do because I won't make a penny by telling you about my experience and that's just too bad for them.  

Buying gift cards at Kroger can be a nice way to save money.  I've never been one to give gift cards as a gift but I've started to buy them when I buy my groceries.  Not for profit organizations are pleased to receive them and I wouldn't mind receiving one from the son this Mother's Day, even though it would probably be a hassle for him.

Georgianna Hardware Corporation

Note to son:  Gas prices have been a hassle as long as I can remember.

My mom wasn't happy when it hit $1 per gallon just as

 my grandfather wasn't pleased when it was thirty cents!  

Facebook Changes Again

Facebook is giving business users more accurate reports and they chose to do so by eliminating "likes" given by users that are inactive.  This is supposed to improve reports and should give up-to-date insights on the people who follow a business page.

I'm thinking this will only make it easier for facebook to sell their targeted marketing because they will have more specifics as to what users are interested in and you will notice an increase in the cost to advertise.

In the case of Georgianna Hardware Corporation, all businesses that "liked" the GHC page were deleted.  I did not see a decrease in my business page "likes" because businesses that "liked" the page were never reported in the total number of page "likes" visible to visitors but I did notice that my news feed was greatly reduced.

As for correcting this problem it seems only a human can "like" a page.  Mr. Z made some comment about names needing to be connected, not businesses.  I did have the thought of a few of my past rants about accountability but I squashed it like a bug when it turned into a current event issue! Anyway, I haven't found a way around their new policy.

If I find any way we can get around having every business under our personal account I will let you know.  In the mean time, Toyota Lift of Minnesota published The #FBLT Facebook B2B Listing 700+ Strong on February 25, 2012.  It's always a good reference. You are welcome to join the FBLT on Google+ community.  Considering the Google-Twitter partnership made recently your business should be taking a close look at their social networking strategy.  

~Kara Miller 

http://www.georgiannahardwarecorporation.com/

Arrowhead Systems, Inc., Conveyor and Production Solutions

Arrowhead Systems, Inc. is an industry leader in providing conveyor, packaging machinery and line productivity solutions to customers in the food, beverage, personal care, container manufacturing, household products, pharmaceutical and many other industry sectors. The companies of Arrowhead Systems have a rich history of innovation and quality that extends back over 60 years.

Products in the Arrowhead Systems family include conveyor lines and material handling solutions from Arrowhead Conveyor, Busse/SJI Bulk Palletizers and Depalletizers, Busse/SJI Warmers, Coolers and Pasteurizers, Priority One conventional and robotic Case Palletizers and NeXtconveyor Sanitary Conveyor Systems.

Please visit Arrowhead Systems, Inc. online.  You can follow them on Twitter @ArrowheadSystem and "Like" their facebook page via this link . 

www.georgiannahardwarecorporation.com

Social Media

Our world is ever changing.  

Suddenly social media is something that everybody is interested in. 

Question is, how do you get your small business exposure?

I can guarantee that there are a thousand people out there that will help you with social media for your business.  I can not quote you prices but it is not unusual to spend a thousand dollars a month for the support needed for a small business. Consider $250 per hour, four hours a month.

That isn't too bad when you know that magazine advertising runs between $500 - $20,000.

I participate in facebook, Google+,  Linkedin,  Pinterest and Twitter and spend at least four hours a day fooling around on each site using my desktop, laptop, tablet and phone to keep in contact with my followers.  My other hours are spent helping construction and manufacturing companies establish B2B contacts and acquire great leads.

As for your business, I suggest that you start using the social media outlets that are available.

Create links on your website to companies that you find helpful.  They are called backlinks and they gain page rank for your website in search engines. You're welcome to use http://www.georgiannahardwarecorporation.com/ as a start.  I'm a real human and search engines seem to have started to recognize me as one.  You can buy backlinks but I'm still on the fence about that.

Social media can be a huge benefit to all businesses.

There is a lot of best practices but I revert back to 1988 and say

Just do it!  

Florida Polytechnica

Photo courtesy Blogphoto.tv/