Facebook launches Marketplace, new ways to create your own social media videos and more in this week of small business tech news from Gene Marks of Forbes.
- Facebook has created its very own form of eBay and Craigslist in Marketplace. The company’s new product “allows users to buy and sell a range of items, such as clothing, electronics, household goods, furniture, jewelry, art and cars.” For small businesses that rely heavily on social media, eBay or Craigslist, Facebook’s Marketplace is another solid option.
- Can responding to tweets pay off for small business? According to a recent study, Yes! “When a customer tweets at a business and receives a response, they are, on average, willing to spend 3 to 20 percent more on a product from that company.” Furthermore, the report indicated that customers are more likely to recommend a specific brand based on their experiences. If your small business is not responding to tweets then you could be missing out.
- Marketing Video Builder is a new tool launched by Animoto. The product allows you to craft unlimited social videos starting at $22 per month. If your small business is using social media to highlights recent experiences, pictures or news, now you can turn them into “professional video slideshows for social media and your blog – and its very user friendly.”
- MasterCard recently launched Identity Check which will allow users to pay by selfie. The feature allows a customer to make or confirm an online payment by showing their face to the smartphone camera. The launch is scheduled for a 2017 release. If your small business is interested in new forms of payment then MasterCard Identity Check could be of interest.
- TalkType is a new Android keyboard that recognizes and records speech. Stanford University found that “its speech recognition technology was three times faster than typing in English – and with an error rate 20.4 percent lower.” Here is a cool tool that will make it simpler to send or record messages to your smartphone. This tool will come in handy for travel heavy consumers and allow users to send emails to customers without the click of a button.
-Ray Hayes
