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TWITTER: I know that this is probably an obvious one, but how do you really engage with Twitter? Do you use it as a personal tool to connect with others? Promote your business? Both? Do you need a personal and business account? I would say, it all depends. I have one account for me personally, which I also use professionally. When my new book, Chasing Youth Culture And Getting It Right, is published in April, I will be using another account for book tweets only. I want to make sure that those messages go to people who want data on youth marketing specifically. So the moral of this story is, know your target market. Your tweets will have a greater impact if you’re really focused on who you’re trying to reach.

3 Reasons You Should Use Separate Twitter Accounts

Tech columnist Hajj Flemings answers the new-age question of whether or not employees should have more than one social media account

With lines being blurred far too many times than people would like to admit, BlackEnterprise.com…

By Hajj Flemings

Posted: May 17, 2012 Tags: branding, corporate brand, Hajj Flemings, personal branding, Twitter

RAISE ENOUGH MONEY BEFORE OPENING FOR BUSINESS

Redding opened up Amy Ruth’s in 1998 with a $73,000 investment and it went on to become a $3 million company. While that achievement is to be lauded, under further inspection it should also to be avoided because Redding launched his business undercapitalized, a trend that he believes is all too common for many African American-owned businesses. “As Black people we always end up opening businesses underfunded,” he notes. “Due to that we rob Peter to pay Paul and don’t pay taxes or purveyors or utilities. Redding knew that opening his latest restaurant would mean securing enough funding—$2 million to be exact. The only way he was able to achieve that round of fundraising was by revising his business plan, something that he recommends for every entrepreneur looking to start over. “You have to put your new business together with a solid business plan so that you can get proper funding.”

3 Tips for Raising Venture Capital Funding

With SendHub's recent $2 million seed funding score making headlines, the company's co-founder Garrett Johnson provides three tips for securing venture capital support

Garrett Johnson, co-founder of SendHub, discusses how he raised $2 million from venture capital firms,…

By Terrance Gaines

Posted: May 3, 2012 Tags: Garrett Johnson, iPhone, SendHub, Technology, text messages

THE PRESENT IS ALL THAT MATTERS

Your Klout score is based on a rolling 90-day window. However, the most recent activity has more bearing on scoring than old activity. So, no matter how low your score is, what you do over the next week is all that matters in getting a higher score. Short-term lapses in social media presence also tend to have less of an effect, but beware of month-long drops. Your score will gradually decrease.

Tip: Keep in mind that the higher your Klout score, the more difficult it becomes to increase your score exponentially. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t blow past 80 in the next week, just keep working at it.

How to Increase Your Klout Score in 5 Days

With interactive influence determining whether or not you’ll land your next job (or VIP status…

By Terrena Carriman

Posted: April 26, 2012 Tags: branding, Diego Basch, Facebook, influencer, Klout, Social influence, Technology

Create Your Own Experience

Don’t wait for an internship to begin gaining experience in the gaming industry. If your passion is reporting or writing about video games, pen articles on your very own blog or website. Aspiring public relations and marketing professionals: Volunteer to draft press releases for indie game developers or promote their content across the web. Game developers on the rise can create mods of their favorite video games, or take things a step further by drafting concept ideas for new games. Visual artists can keep busy by testing their creative skills via poster designs and physical prototype models.

Dan Amrich, social media manager at Activision, provided several helpful tips during the panel. “Challenge yourself. Go into an interview and always think about what you can exhibit. Show how you can help their company.”

4 Tips to Breaking into the Video Game Industry

You may not have sat through the “So You Want to Get into Gaming” panel…

By Tamika Moultrie

Posted: April 23, 2012 Tags: gaming industry, mobile gaming, PAX East 2012, video game industry

For many businesses, growing their social media following is a common concern. While you may already know about the more time consuming tasks of sharing relevant content, engaging with your community, answering customer questions and being generally helpful, what happens when you've done all of that but no one follows?

When it comes to social media, if you have an online presence, it does your potential audience a disservice if they can't find you. So many business owners fail to benefit from the promotional tools that are right at their fingertips. To grow awareness of your social media community, you don't have to reinvent the marketing wheel. But you do need to think like a marketer. These five easy-to-follow steps will help promote your business—all while cultivating a strong social media presence.--Amanda Miller Littlejohn

5 Ways to Grow Your Brand’s Social Media Following

Five easy-to-follow steps that will help promote your business—all while cultivating a strong social media presence.

Amanda Miller Littlejohn provides five easy-to-follow steps that will help promote your business—all while cultivating…

By Amanda Miller Littlejohn

Posted: April 13, 2012 Tags: Amanda Miller Littlejohn, brands, Facebook, FourSquare, Social media, Twitter, YouTube

Digital Renaissance: 3 Signs Detroit Is the Next Tech Hub

The former automotive center is quickly becoming a go-to tech destination

Detroit is shaking things up a bit, taking its creative roots and recreating a space…

By Hajj Flemings

Posted: April 11, 2012 Tags: Adam Bain, Dan Gilbert, Detroit, Detroit Labs, Detroit Venture Partners, Hajj Flemings, hiredMyway, M@dison Building, New York City, Silicon Valley, Skidmore Studio, Twitter, United States Patent and Trademark Office, UpTo

Mario Armstrong, digital lifestyle expert and Small Business University instructor.

New Lessons to Learn

Increase your productivity with technology

As a digital lifestyle expert on the Today show, CNN, and on my daily talk…

By BLACK ENTERPRISE

Posted: April 9, 2012 Tags: blacks and technology, Business Technology, Tech tools, Technology, technology advice, technology trends, technology upgrade

You’ve Been Warned: Prepare to Hand Over Your Facebook Password

Social media has blurred the line between personal and professional. Ask yourself: Are you ready to willingly turn over your username and password?

Some employers are taking it one step further; demanding candidates provide their Facebook login information.…

By Hajj Flemings

Posted: April 4, 2012 Tags: Big Brother, Facebook, Facebook password, Facebook privacy settings, Facebook settings, FourSquare, George Orwell, Hajj Flemings, Twitter

How to Hide Stuff From Your Timeline

Timeline gives friends the ability to view your entire Facebook history. For this reason, we imagine the first thing most people will want to do is to "sanitize" their Timeline. The good news is, it's simple to hide what you don't want showing. When you see a post you'd like to nix, just hit the pencil icon at the top of the post and select "Hide from Timeline." This doesn't delete the content from your account, but it will keep it safe from prying eyes.

Why Asking For A Job Applicant’s Facebook Password Is Fair Game

Depending on the job, access to the social media communications of a potential hire may be in your company's best interest

Employers asking prospective hires for their Facebook password is a hot button topic but it’s…

By Alfred Edmond, Jr.

Posted: April 2, 2012 Tags: Eli Pariser, employee rights, employment law, expectation of pricacy, Facebook, hiring, human resource management, human resources, invasion of privacy, JJ Ramberg, job application, job creation, MSNBC, password, privacy settings, Social media, social media privacy settings, social media tools, The Filter Bubble, Your Business

Maria Hannah, owner of The Clean Dog Inc. (Photo by Craig Bromley)

Out of the Doghouse

Failure to upgrade hardware can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance of antiquated…

By Marcia Wade Talbert

Posted: April 1, 2012 Tags: Business Technology, small business technology, technology makeover, technology upgrade, technology useage

Technology > Tips

By Hajj Flemings

By Terrance Gaines

By Terrena Carriman

By Tamika Moultrie

By Amanda Miller Littlejohn

By Hajj Flemings

By BLACK ENTERPRISE

By Hajj Flemings

By Alfred Edmond, Jr.

By Marcia Wade Talbert

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