New Twitter Features Top List of Weekly Small Business Headlines

Twitter has been one of the top promotional tools for small businesses for years. And now, the social networking platform is unveiling a couple of new features that could make the experience even better.

First, Twitter announced a new advertising feature that automatically boosts tweets and profiles so you don’t have to constantly select tweets to amplify. Then the company announced all Twitter users now have access to an expanded 280-character limit.

Social Media

Twitter Promote Mode Automatically Boosts Small Business Tweets for $99 a Month

If you’re struggling with setting up a social media ad campaign, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) has just introduced a solution right up your alley. The new Twitter Promote Mode is an “always-on, amplification engine” which automatically boosts tweets and profiles. By repeatedly promoting tweets, Promote Mode consistently attracts more followers and creates additional reach.

Now Your Business Too Has #280characters of Twitter Power

All Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) users now have the ability to tweet using 280 characters, double the previous 140-character limit. The change went into effect on November 7 and all those strategies and tricks you had for getting your small business’s message across in a short form are now fodder for the history books.

New  Facebook Feature Allows Small Businesses to Integrate Messenger on their Websites

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) just introduced a new feature for its Facebook Messenger platform that will allow businesses to integrate Messenger into their own websites.

Economy

Tech Alliance Provides Obamacare Open Enrollment Assistance to Freelancers

Open enrollment for individuals to find new health insurance plans under Obamacare started on November 1, meaning that it’s now the time for freelancers to find their health insurance plans for the new year. Unlike other small businesses, freelancers apply for health insurance plans as individuals under the Affordable Care Act, rather than applying for business plans.

Robotics Becomes Fastest Growing Skill Among Freelancers, Upworks Index Says

Jobs for skilled freelancers online are booming, thank you very much, on account of new technologies. According to data from Upwork, a website that matches freelancers with employers, job postings for independent skilled workers in emerging technologies more than doubled this year.

Web.com Acquires Acquisio to Bolster Online Small Business Marketing with AI

Internet services and online marketing solutions provider Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:WEB) recently announced it has acquired Acquisio, an online marketing Artificial Intelligence (AI) company. The acquisition bolsters Web.com’s existing suite of online marketing tools for small businesses with AI technology.

Employment

Flu Is Your Worst Enemy: 10 Reasons to Stop Employees from Coming to Work Ill

When temperatures start to fall, more and more people find themselves sick with colds or the flu. For small businesses, that means you’ll likely have some employees try to come into work even while they’re battling these illnesses. Olivia Curtis is a workplace wellness expert at HR company G&A Partners.

Hidden  Mystery Behind Obamacare 2017 Open Enrollment: What Business Owners Should Know

Open enrollment began November 1 under The Affordable Care Act (ACA). It lasts until December 15. There are some implications for small businesses as the ACA gets buffeted by attempts to change or repeal it. Finding a path through the maze of items like the calls to end cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments can be confusing.

California’s New Parent Leave Act Could Cause Big Headache for Small Businesses

The New Parent Leave Act (SB 63) just signed into law in California has the potential to cause big headaches for small businesses, not just in the Golden State but nationwide. It’s a big deal because businesses with 20-49 employees will now need to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave.

Local Marketing

Revel  Systems, LevelUp Partner to Improve Mobile Experience for Small Local Restaurants

Revel Systems, an iPad-based point of sale (POS) platform for businesses, recently announced it has partnered with mobile payment network LevelUp to enhance the mobile experience for restaurants. As part of the partnership, small restaurant businesses can now integrate mobile order-ahead, in-store mobile payments, and loyalty programs into their existing Revel platform.

Retail Trends

89%  of Millennial Women Online Shoppers Are Waiting for Your Next Sale, Survey Finds

Millennial women are thrifty shoppers, a new study has found. The Shopping Habits of Millennial Women Revealed According to the survey by digital shopping platform ThinkOver, 89 percent of women say they will watch an item for a sale before purchasing.

Sales

Salesforce Essentials Gives Small Businesses Features Previously Only Available to Enterprise

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) wants to give small businesses like yours, the power that previously was reserved for bigger companies. Sales Cloud Lightning Essentials is such an example, as Salesforce announced the general availability of what the company says is one of the best CRM platforms for small business from the annual Dreamforce conference.

Salesforce and Google Partner to Connect Sales, Marketing and More for Business

One of the most important features of today’s collaborative workforce is access. And when two of the largest companies in their respective fields form a partnership to address this very point, it highlights its importance.

Small Biz Spotlight

Spotlight: Tenavox Aims to Help Small Businesses with Commercial Real Estate

The world of commercial real estate is notoriously tricky. There aren’t tons of great sources of information for tenants to consider in order to make the best possible decision. But Tenavox is a new startup in the Houston area that’s aiming to change that. Read about the company and how it aims to help small businesses in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.

Small Business Operations

Ability  to Speak With a Human Representative is Important to Customers, Survey Says

When customers call, they want to be heard — not by a machine, but a real human being. That’s the key insight from a new survey by Washington-based research firm Clutch. The survey reveals the ability to speak with a human representative is the most important characteristic of any phone call for customers.

New  Microsoft 365 Business Includes Connections, Listings and Invoicing Features

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has officially launched the new Microsoft 365 Business. The iconic software suite enhances productivity, collaboration and data security for small businesses, the company says. The collection of software productivity and collaboration tools aim at simplifying IT for small and medium-sized businesses with up to 300 employees.

Startup

SBA Hosts Twitter Chat for Veteran Owned Small Businesses

As part of National Veterans Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration hosted a Twitter chat to share tips and insights specifically for veteran entrepreneurs. The chat took place on November 2.

Technology Trends

Google Hangouts Meet Hardware Kit Targets Businesses with New Video Conferencing Features

Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has officially launched a new hardware kit solely dedicated to businesses that use Hangouts Meet. The new Hangouts Meet Hardware Kit, which is going for $1,999, includes a speaker mic, 4K sensor camera, a touchscreen controller and ASUS Chromebox. The Asus Chromebox CN62 is the nerve center of this kit.

NCR and Samsung Team Up for Small Business Commerce Station

The NCR Silver Quantum all-in-one point-of-sale (POS) commerce station has been launched in collaboration with Samsung Electronics America. The new POS platform is an integrated system which brings together the Samsung Galaxy tablet and NCR (NYSE:NCR) Corporation’s payment, management and marketing solution.

Apple Pay Cash is Here, Is Your Small Business Ready?

The arrival of iOS 11.2 Beta brings with it Apple Pay Cash. This will allow users to send and receive cash payments from the iPhone Messages app using iMessage. You will be able to send cash to another person as long as they also have the latest iOS Beta. Apple Pay Cash is catching up with the likes of Venmo, Zelle and others with simplified peer-to-peer payment solutions.

Comcast Xfinity Saw Outages Monday, Is Your Business Prepared?

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Xfinity customers around the country experienced widespread outages Monday. November 2017 Comcast Xfinity Internet Outages The issue, which Comcast called an external network issue, caused more than 40,000 customers to report issues between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. EST Monday.

HTC U11Plus Offers Long Battery Life, Other Features for Business Users

Six months after the HTC U11 was released, the iconic phone company has announced the availability of the U11 Plus. This is a souped-up version of its predecessor, with a bigger screen and battery, as well as IP68 protection and an Edge Sense feature with more functionality.

SignEasy Releases Small Business Features to Reduce Reliance on Paper

New features announced by SignEasy are designed to boost the productivity level of small businesses by reducing dependence on paper. According to SignEasy, the new features have been tailored to benefit businesses as more of them migrate to the cloud.

Twitter photo via Shutterstock

This article, "New Twitter Features Top List of Weekly Small Business Headlines" was first published on Small Business Trends