Just one in seven small business owners regards printed newspapers as a primary source of news, according to a new study by online payroll provider SurePayroll.
The study found that 84 percent of respondents believed keeping up with news and current events was important to the successful management of their businesses, and 65 percent said that workers who kept themselves well-informed were more likely to be better employees. "When you own a business you can’t afford to be out of the loop – your livelihood depends on how much you and your small group of employees know," said SurePayroll president Michael Alter.
While search engine optimization (SEO) and other techniques can be used to manipulate online news search results, almost a third of business owners who took the survey said that their preferred news format was the online newspaper, making it the most popular choice among respondents. "Reading the news online gives business owners the flexibility to scan information from multiple sources and easily keep a grasp on what’s going on while they work," said Alter.
Tools like search engine optimization (SEO) can also help small business owners use online news to raise their online profile and attract new clients.
In a business column for the Rochester, Minnesota Post-Bulletin earlier this year, Dean Swanson wrote that search engine optimization (SEO) is something small businesses should use to help attract the increasing number of people heading to search engines to find information.
