oh hello blog

May 13 2013

What’s in a Good Business Name?

One of the most important, and sometimes the hardest, decision you make when starting a company is coming up with a good business name. A name can play a big role in the success or lack thereof for your company.

It is critical to choose a name that will set you apart from your competition. Be cautious when coming up with a decriptive name that explains what you do or have to offer in the business name, which may cause confusion with competitors. Entrepreneur.com sums it up well, ”Successful company names are suggestive rather than descriptive.” Also, keep in mind that choosing a fanciful name (a made-up word) is good for functioning as a trademark and provides future flexibility in products and services offered.

Collaboration is helpful when coming up with a name. Form a group meeting of your friends and associates to get more ideas. This is a great way to get creative ideas and will often result in some good names to choose from. Start out by doing group word association with ideas that you will use in your business. Have everyone write down their ideas, share and build on them. Group members should vote for their favorites so you can get an idea of what names will do well with other people, ultimately your potential customers. Just because you have a favorite doesn’t mean that it is the best choice. Get opinions from others.

Another good tool for choosing a good name is to test it out on Google AdWords. The “find keywords” tool will list similar search phrases and will tell you how many monthly local and global searches the words are getting. If you are planning on building your brand on a big scale, make sure you can trademark the name. Also, check to see what web domains are available and if they are available on social media sites.

Once you’ve selected your business name, be sure to setup your FREE business page on www.ohhello.co – where friends share local business recommendations. In BETA now.

Tagged branding, business, business ideas, business name, company, competition, customers, entrepreneur.com, global search, google adwords, keyword search, local search, name, o hello, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, ohhello.co, opinions, successful company, trademark

May 05 2013

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Internet, Social Media Marketing

Social Search – Get More from Your Searches

With technology advancements, it is becoming easier to stay connected with friends online. Not only are we able to search for just about everything, we can now do social searches. With Facebook coming out with their new Graph Search, in beta now, it will be easier to find people, places and things through the social network powerhouse. Bing also stepped up their social game last year when they upgraded the look of their Social Sidebar, which makes it easier to find friends relevant to your searches based on what they have shared on the web. Bing’s Social Sidebar shares results based on your friends’ activity on Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Klout, Quora, Google+ and more. Plus, it is no secret that search engines give creditability to social. Content from social networks is calculated into search engine algorithms.

The ability to have search results that are more relevent to us are continually improving. Why is social so important? We all value what our friends think, what they are “up to” and what we can learn from their experiences. Take local business search for example. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get recommendations and reviews from our friends every time we are looking for a business? This is now possible. With Oh hello, currently in beta, you are now able to search for businesses using recommendations from your friends and their friends.

Sign up on Oh hello and start getting business recommendations from your friends. It is also a great way to promote your own business. We’re looking for any feedback from our users to make Oh hello the best social search website for business. Sign up today – it’s free! Let us know what you think by posting your comments below.

Tagged beta, bing, business, business recommendation, business review, business search, connections, facebook, foursquare, free marketing, friends, google plus, google+, graph search, internet, klout, local business, o hello, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, ohhello.co, online, quora, search engine, sign-up, social, social search, social searches, social sidebar, technology, twitter

Apr 28 2013

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Oh hello update, Internet

For the Love of Meme

We all either love our memes or love to hate them. Regardless of your appreciation for them, the big question is, what makes these catchy ideas go viral?

There are several elements to a good meme. Almost all start out as either a video or picture. Memes are created primarily from children, animals and men. Check out this infographic for some ideas on what the biggest hits have been for the last 30 years. It may give you some ideas for your big idea – your meme. Good luck and happy meme-ing!

Infographic compiled by Pelican PR using patterns from 100 memes created from 1980 to today.

Update on Oh hello:

We’re getting closer! We’re working through some minor functionality bugs right now. Our social platform for local business search will be ready for launch soon.

Tagged business search, idea, local business, meme, o hello, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, ohhello.co, pelican pr, social, viral

Apr 18 2013

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Local Business, Marketing

Beware of Giving Away the Farm

Highly discounted deals and coupons are all the rage nowadays and can be a great way to drive new customers to your businesses. However, is participating in these highly discounted programs bad for business? It depends.

Customers love getting big discounts from Groupon, LivingSocial and others, but a lot of merchants do not. According to Inc., a study done by Rice University found that 66 percent of merchants who used Groupon said that their deal was profitable and 32 percent of merchants said it wasn’t. The more staggering number is that 40 percent said they wouldn’t do a Groupon deal again. It was concluded that the lack of success with the deals was because most businesses didn’t have a proper plan in place before they made the deal. The sudden surge in business can be harmful to a business if it’s not prepared. Each business should think through how they will make money on the deal through cross-sells and up-sells. Proper staffing should be thought through so that new customers will have a good experience when they come to the business and will want to come back again.

Can you give a good deal that will attract new customers without giving away too much? You can. Consumers like deals and it is smart to offer them as part of your marketing plan when doing business. It has been proven that when consumers receive deals they are more happy (see Forbes article). When investigating the neurophysiological effects of coupons on shoppers, Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University found that levels of oxytocin in subjects that received coupons increased significantly. The levels of oxytocin, a hormone that is related to emotions such as happiness, love and trust, rose more in subjects receiving coupons than it did in subjects receiving a gift or kissing. With results like that, it is important to give your customers deals, but they don’t have to be so heavily discounted that it breaks the bank. One way to generate your own coupons is to create one on Oh hello. With the capability to customize the offer to fit your business’s marketing needs and share it with friends, it is a good way to go. For more information, visit www.ohhello.co.

Tagged business, claremont university, consumer, coupon, customer, deal, discount, forbes, groupon, inc, Living Social, make money, marketing, merchant, o hello, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, ohhello.co, oxytocin, research, rice university

Apr 13 2013

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Networking

Build Your Business with Networking

Growing a business is hard work. This can be a lot easier when you have people that can help you grow. There are many ways to meet people in person, including networking events, and then you can grow and cultivate those relationships.

There are a lot of people that don’t take the time to network. According to Entrepreneur, there are four main reasons why people resist networking: lack of confidence, too busy, impatience for results and the common belief that networking is selling. One must realize that is important to get over these fears and that networking is important to build business. You can meet future customers, business partners and gain referrals by networking. After all, we all know that the most powerful form of marketing is word of mouth, and it helps jump-start this when you are well networked.

When networking in person, be prepared before you go. Make sure you have plenty of business cards, a pen and have your elevator pitch down pat. It is also helpful to set a goal before you begin. Is there a certain number of people you want to meet? What kind of people would you like to meet? Make sure you mingle and make your way around the room. Don’t get stuck talking to only one or two people during the networking event.

Make sure you follow up with you contacts within 48 hours of meeting them. Take action on the things you talked with them about, and integrate your newly-networked relationships online. Find them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and oh hello. Connect with these people and stay in touch with them. Also, be sure to remember that networking is about mutually beneficial relationships, so be cognizant of ways you can help them too. Be sure to find them on oh hello and recommend them to your friends.

Tagged business, entrepreneur, facebook, grow your business, increase business, linkedin, meet people, networking, networking events, o hello, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, recommendation, relationships, twitter

Apr 06 2013

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Local Business, Oh hello update

The Future of Local Search

Just as technology changes and evolves over time, the way we search has changed as well. Phone books and yellow pages are going the way of the dinosaur, and now 97% of local searches are performed online (according to Google). With everyone’s growing addiction to having their phone handy at all times, a lot of searches are now done on the go. According to Small Business Trends, one in three mobile searches are done looking for local content.

As more searches are being done online, it is important to have a reputable presence online. Consumers can easily find the majority of their local choices online, and they are now using reviews and recommendations to help filter down those choices.

Recognizing the need for business recommendations, oh hello has created a website for friends to recommend businesses to each other. This will be an important tool in the evolution of local search because it will help consumers easily find businesses recommended by people they trust. To keep up with the mobile search trend, we are currently creating a mobile app which will soon be available in the App Store. The app for Android will be coming later this year.

Tagged android, app, business review, connections, evolution, friends, future, iphone, local search, mobile search, o hello, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, ohhello.co, phone book, phone directory, recommendation, review, technology, trend, yellow pages

Mar 29 2013

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Reviews

Oh hello! Online Reviews you can Trust

So, what exactly is oh hello? Many people have asked this question, and it deserves some explanation since there is nothing else out there like it. Oh hello is a social platform where you can find local businesses and get business recommendations from your friends. There are a few online business search and review websites out there, but oh hello has a unique niche. The search results on oh hello are based on your connections, so you get business reviews from the people you trust.

The obstacles that people face when searching on other local search platforms such as Angie’s List, Citysearch or Yelp is that there is an amount of uncertainty about the reviews. Who made the review? Do you trust what they have to say? Was their experience with the business real? Maybe. Maybe not. Not a very good set of information to go off of when you’re trying to find someone to do business with and spend your hard-earned money on.

The New York Times exposed the problem with online reviews in their article In A Race to Out-Rave, 5-Star Web Reviews Go for $5. NY Times easily found businesses that offer to pay for good reviews, people reaching out to businesses to review in exchange for compensation and online review factories. Cornell Researchers saw the escalating problem and developed a computer algorithm to help with the problem and big companies are jumping to use their technology. Not only do bad reviews hurt the consumer, they hurt the online review websites as well. They don’t want the bogus reviews either.

Oh hello realized the need for a platform that had reviews from people you can trust. Who better to trust than your own friends? Sign up for FREE at www.ohhello.co. Get your business page set up today before our launch to the public to get your personal URL secured and your connections set up. Don’t have a business, product or service to offer? That’s okay – you can sign up as a user to search through your connections as well. Oh hello is for anyone looking to find a business or for businesses trying to be found!

Oh hello friends!

Oh hello reviews!

Oh hello plumber!

Oh hello roofer!

Oh hello dentist!

Tagged angie's list, citysearch, connections social platform, cornell, friends, local search business search, ny times article, o hello, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, ohhello.co, online reviews, review factory, review farm, trust, yelp

Mar 21 2013

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Local Business, Oh hello update

Rubbing Elbows – Networking on LinkedIn

Networking on LinkedIn can get overwhelming. There are so many people to connect with that it may seem hard to know where to begin. Start by connecting and engaging with the people you already know. Then, according to Mashable, there are some easy ways to better network on LinkedIn: find authors of content you read, become an author yourself, join relevant groups and meet the people who are looking at you.

To keep up on topics in your industry, it is important to follow social influencers in your area of expertise. Who do you currently follow elsewhere on the Internet (Twitter, websites, blogs, Google+, Facebook, etc.)? Find them on LinkedIn. Their conversations will help you keep up to date, and you can make connections as well.

Become a thought leader in your industry. Being recognized as an authority in your field will give you an edge over your competitors. A great way to do this is to join a LinkedIn Group that is relevant to your industry, and start sharing your content and ideas. Groups are a great way to find and share industry articles, ask questions and start a dialog. If one of your interests is local business search, here is a good group to join that oh hello created. When you join a group, you should introduce yourself in the discussion. Also, figure out who the key players are and the ones who are most social in the discussion. Read what others are posting and comment on their posts. Don’t hesitate to connect with people in the group that are interacting with you.

Another way to better network on LinkedIn is to take advantage of all of their tools available by upgrading your account. With an upgraded account, you can see who is looking at your profile – connect with those people. Do some research and find out why they may be looking at your profile and if you share some common ground. Then start a conversation with them and connect.

Oh hello Update

We are getting very close to launch! The website www.ohhello.co is still in beta phase, but you’re more than welcome to sign up before we launch. Connect through Facebook for the best experience!

Tagged beta phase, connect, connections, conversation, facebook, field, google+, industry, introduction, launch, linkedin, linkedin groups, Mashable, network, networking, oh hello, ohello, ohhello, people, professional, sign-up, social influence, thought leader, twitter

Mar 01 2013

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Oh hello update

Happy Employee Appreciation Day to oh hello Team!

There are many characteristics that make a great employee: good work ethic, dedication, organization, efficiency and many other characteristics. Here at oh hello, we are very fortunate to have great team members. In the spirit of national Employee Appreciation Day, we would like to honor some valuable people that have been hard at work building our great website ohhello.co.

We would like extend a big thanks to:

Cache (CTO)

Dipti (Project Manager)

Sumit (Engineer)

Supravat (Engineer)

We couldn’t do this without these guys, and we really appreciate them! They are so great at what they do, and they make the ideas of the website really come together. Oh hello Cache, Dipti, Sumit and Supravat – thank you so much, and happy Employee Appreciation Day!

Our website is coming together nicely and is currently in beta phase. We are so close and are weeks away from release. Keep following our blog for the latest updates.

Tagged appreciation, beta phase, cache, cto, dedication, developer, dipti, efficiency, employee, employee appreciation day, engineer, o hello, oh hello, ohello.co, ohhello.co, organization, project manager, sumit, supravat, thank you, thanks, valuable people, web development, work ethic

Feb 18 2013

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Local Business

The Internet is Getting Smaller

The Internet is big, but it is getting smaller. There are many companies expanding into smaller, local space. According to Google, 97% of consumers search for local businesses online. Large websites and search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, are catering toward local business with free local platforms: Google Places and Yahoo Local. Big search engines are recognizing the value of local. A few years ago, Google merged its traditional organic algorithm with its index of local businesses from Google Places with Blended Place Search. Businesses are also being built by offering directory listing services to improve SEO, such as Yext.

Some companies, such as oh hello, are starting in the small space and capitalizing on what people want most online – local search. Oh hello takes local search a step further for small businesses and your connections’ referrals and promotions, fueled by a social search engine. There are many examples of companies expanding into this space. Park Me is a company that creates apps to find parking easier in big cities. Nextdoor is a neighborhood social network designed for connecting neighbors.

Do you like the concept of finding local businesses easily – businesses that are trusted by your connections? If so, sign up for your FREE account today at ohhello.co.

You can also help oh hello by voting for in the Grow America competition. You can vote once per day through February 26!

Tagged business, close web, entrepreneur contest, google places, grow america, internet, local business, local search, nextdoor, oh hello, ohello, park me, search engine, SEO, small business, social media, wired, yahoo local

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