Sensis have issued the 2012 e-business report, and it’s full of interesting trends in the social and mobile spaces. CosmicVillage has been following these reports over the last 5 years which have reflected the increase in Social and Mobile activity in SME (Small-Medium Enterprises). Five years is not a very long time for the amount of change SMEs have had to endure, but this is the pace of technological change – and as such it’s adapt or suffer for most SMEs.

Below are a few highlights from the report with a commentary (the full report link is placed at the end).

SMB Social Media Presence

All SMEs showed a 9% increase in having a social media presence, with Facebook being the primary social networking site of choice.

Impact of Social Media

Many businesses fear using Social Media and with the recent ruling that Facebook pages can now become legal minefields, I have heard many businesses question using social media. However, the Sensis report shows that there is 50% likelihood of positive or zero impact vs. a 2% chance of negative impact.

Advertising in Social + Mobile

SMEs are now dedicating a portion of their advertising budgets to Social Media and Mobile, with almost 1/5 of advertising budget dedicated to Social Media.

Digital Strategies

SMEs are now incorporating both Social Media and Mobile into their digital media strategies. Not surprisingly, Mobile remains higher than Social Media as was the case in 2011. This may be due to SMEs recognising the shift from web to mobile based services and the development of apps.

Apps

SMEs are still reluctant to develop applications for their business, even though they recognise the importance of Mobile.  This was a rather surprising result and could be due to the high cost of application development and lack of knowledge from a SMEs perspective. Apple of course dominated the application market, however another surprise was the low rate of tablet applications being developed.

Internet Access Preference

The report indicates a growing trend that Australians are now accessing the internet through their mobile devices with over 55% of respondents affirming this.

Mobile Usage by Age

The majority of all respondents across all age demographics are now using mobile phones to access the internet, reflecting that we have now definitely moved into the mobile web and use it as a form of keeping connected at work, home and whilst out.

Social Network Usage by Age

Social networks are now also being accessed by all age groups with obvious results for Gen Y and under demographics, but also a large and growing portion of 50+ Social Networking users.

Frequency of using Social Networks

Two thirds of all respondents surveyed admitted to using Social Networks more than once per day, and 59% responding with at least once per day, indicating that we use our social networks to communicate and keep up with the latest news from our circles.

For the full report click HERE.

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As technology rapidly advances, we become more social online and the rise of the mobile web continues to become a dominant driver in business activities – there has never been a better time to start your own business. We have never had the opportunities that exist in today’s digital revolution that can lower entry barriers so much.

Previous to these times, starting a business was one giant leap for mankind for each of us. We were limited by what we could afford, who we knew that could get us places and sometimes pure luck with striking the right cord at the right time.

Entrepreneurs should harness these services to work for them. There are so many good ideas out there; they just need the legs to stand on to get up and running.

There are now services out there for businesses to help them get up and running without all the cost, pressures and risks.

These services are provided by other businesses and made for businesses, specifically those who are just starting to gain some momentum. Here are a few services to turn your brilliant idea into an up and running business:

Cloud Services

Want to reduce the cost of managing your own server, upgrading your IT, even having IT Staff? Look no further than Cloud Service Providers. In fact you’re probably using them now (MYOB, XERO, Mailchimp, Salesforce). Outsource your technology services and lower your costs.

Social Media Services

Social Media has opened up the global market for your business. You now have the potential to reach millions through Social Media. Think about it as a Customer Service Portal, a CRM, a promotional platform and a place where you can respectfully tap into what people are actually interested in, rather than broadcasting into the white noise. Small business owners can get up to skill with Social Media by attending training classes, or if they would purely like to focus on their sole business operations, they can outsource their Social Media Management to B2B Community Managers. Think about the cost saving of having your own Social Media Professional looking after your portfolio without the investment in salary, super, benefits, insurance or training.                                        

Incubator / Share Spaces

Many businesses just need a location to get themselves started. Instead of investing into a huge new fancy office, a couple of workstations will do the same trick. Here is where Incubators and Co-Working spaces steps in. Not only do you save by paying what you use as you go, you get to network and build relations with other entrepreneurs who are just starting out too. Invaluable experiences are gained in this process at Incubators and they are made for the B2B market.

Mobile Technology

Smart Devices are starting to take a large market share of our online usage time. This applies to your customers too. This means that having a mobile presence as an App for your business is essential. Therefore having your website mobile and tablet friendly is a must. Use the services of B2B mobile developers to secure your business’s location in the mobile realm. This market is only going to get bigger.

These four simple services provided by an array of business to business providers out there, will help lower your costs from day dot, help you build the networks and relations in your industry, help you communicate and market to a global audience and most importantly help turn that little idea that keeps you up every night into the reality you keep dreaming about.

Know of any more? What other B2B services have you used in getting up and running?

As always, Share + Enjoy.

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So we’ve finally hit the year 2012. And as at the time of writing this piece there are over 550 Social Media sites out there. Social Media has well and truly taken a firm grip on our lives and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be letting go. In fact, it will be the opposite, as our daily activities become more and more digitized and social media managed.

There are certain things Social Media does for me to help me with my personal daily activities.

Facebook keeps me in touch with everyone around me. Twitter keeps me in touch with not only friends, but my extended circles of interest. iTunes helps manage and play my music. Foursquare helps me keep up to date with all the latest local deals and in friendly competition with my friends. Instagram helps me become the perfect photographer. Tumblr is where I express my thoughts in my blogs (like this one!).

But now, there is a new Social Network on the block, and it allows me to do all this through one beautifully designed and presented user experience and user interface.

Path.

Path’s beauty lies in not only its clean simplicity, but also in the fact that  it allows me to share my personal story, my life journal of daily activities not with the world at large, but only the people who are within my inner network.

The Path interface is smooth and makes everything look like it is in HD quality. When scrolling down through the Path timeline, and it really is a timeline with time stamps, the user is presented with a history of ‘moments’ that each user connected to your Path has posted. This provides the rich content of being able to keep up with the latest or previous ‘moments’ your network has to offer. Arguably, this is similar to looking at your friends Facebook Timeline. However, Path has taken everyone’s timeline and made it into a social timeline, rather than a news feed.

When selecting the action functionality on Path, the user is presented with 6 options:

Photos – this function opens up the Path camera and allows the user to switch between photo/video and record a new image / video or upload one from your phone. Once selected the user is given the option to use one of Path’s in-built filters, much like Instagram, to enhance their images. 

Tagging – When the user selects the Tag option, they are first presented with their friends lists, and then offered the option of leaving a comment and tagging a location. Path has now made it easier and presented the user interface so beautifully, that the user wants to share their ‘shared moments’ with those around them.

Check-In – As with the Tagging feature, users can select their location then input a comment and tag friends with it.

Music – This feature allows users to let their network know what they are listening to. The first selections of songs that appear are based on what your network has previously listened to, and the search functionality allows users to select artists and their music. Once again, the ability to leave a comment, tag a friend and location are also present. Like what someone in your Path is listening to? With Path, you can now purchase music directly through the Path network.

Comment – The comment feature on Path is the exact as it is on the Facebook Status update or Twitter Tweet post. Without the character limitations though.

Asleep/Awake – A wonderful new feature that allows your network to see if you are available or not, this stunning function tells the world you are awake and ready to interact or you are asleep and not to be disturbed.

Once any of these features are used, the user then has the ability to post the update into their other social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare, helping manage all these networks from the one platform.

One of the features I do find a little creepy about Path is that when you look at someone’s profile (their Path), that user is notified that you have reviewed it. Whilst this is nice to see who is interested in you, it can present a problem with the online stalkers who keep returning to your Path. However, it is understandable, because with Path you are not meant to add the world to your network, only those you want to share your personal journal with.

There is a theoretical number which states that our human brains can only sustain a maximum number of social relationships that are considered ‘stable’. This number is roughly 150. Path seizes the opportunities that Dunbar’s number presents and makes the user want to only build connections with those who they want to share their most personal experiences with.

We all got caught up in the Facebook craze of adding people to our networks who were not a part of our current lives. School friends we haven’t seen in 10 years, business contacts who requested to add us but we couldn’t say no, friends of friends we only ever met once – and yet we share so much of our personal activities without hesitation. Not to mention with all the information that Facebook provides to third parties.

Whilst I still think Facebook is an amazing social network, I have come to realise that Facebook for me now is more about business than it is about personal. Using Facebook as a cornerstone of your business’s social media strategy is a winning formula. Using Facebook as a person is becoming more and more difficult each day with the rapid changes, the thinking twice before posting your thoughts and sifting through Facebook’s terms & conditions / privacy policies which has become harder than learning quantum physics.

Does that mean I’m going to leave Facebook? No. Facebook has become an extension of my brain. It helps me keep up with all the latest events, it helps me remember everyone’s birthdays, and it helps me converse and engage with businesses. Not to mention all the benefits it provides my business, CosmicVillage.net,  on the world’s largest social network. As such, I will keep Facebook and continue to enjoy its growth and what it offers as the more open Social Network (i.e. use Facebook as I would use Twitter – as a business communication tool).

For me personally, Path will be the journal I want my inner circle to see, and engage with.

Path is measured in moments, which makes each of the posts something you shared more special. Path allows me to achieve all my personal activities (Check-ins, music, photos) with those closest to me, so that they can interact with me on the personal level I know them for. And when I want to share something with the bigger world, Path allows me to post directly to Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and Foursquare from the one application, avoiding having multiple accounts to manage.

I don’t work for Path, nor am I a representative of them. I just find Path a truly richer and more in-depth personal social network for all those personal moments.

The world doesn’t want to hear about or see what I’m having for breakfast. My personal connections do.