Distributor News

Farewell and good riddance to the first half of 2011—six months that are ending as sour for the economy as they began.

Most analysts say economic growth will perk up in the second half of the year. The reason is that the main causes of the slowdown—high oil prices and manufacturing delays because of the disaster in Japan—have started to fade.

"Some of the headwinds that caused us to slow are turning into tail winds," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

You don't need to be a user of social media to know that it's changed business as we knew it. Companies point customers to their Facebook page. Twitter has become mission control for customer complaints and praise as well as a place to cultivate brands. And engaging with customers has become an entirely different proposition from what it was even five years ago.

That's because social media has blurred the lines between sales, service and marketing.

A quick rundown of distributor press opportunities through our magazine and PromoMarketing.com.

"I think small businesses are confused about what they should do and how they should do it," says Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot. "They stick their toe in the water by tweeting once a week or creating a page on Facebook, but that really doesn't work. What they need to do is jump in, ask questions, learn and fully engage."

In fact, the recent 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report , which surveyed 3,342 marketers, found that 48 percent of small business owners, who did engage, saw improved sales as a direct result of their social media efforts.

More federal-contract dollars went to small firms in 2010 than 2009, according to a report released Friday.

Small businesses won $97.95 billion, or 22.7% of eligible contracts last year, up from 21.9% in 2009, but still shy of the 23% goal the government set.

The Small Business Administration, which issues the annual contracting scorecard, says the increase came from cross-collaboration efforts between government agencies to find and solicit contract opportunities for more small firms. The SBA intends to continue those efforts to boost the numbers next year.

An inprompto congratulatory gathering luckily caught on film.

Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF), Irving, Texas, has selected their PPEF scholars for 2011. Sixty-six new and 28 renewal scholars were awarded $100,000 in scholarships.

President Barack Obama said he's designating more than $500 million to an effort with companies and universities to speed technology development, meet global competition and create jobs.

"With these key investments, we can ensure that the U.S. remains a nation that 'invents it here and manufacturers it here' and create high-quality, good-paying jobs for American workers," Obama said in a statement released by the White House before he speaks later today at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

The Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) today announced that it would halt plans to introduce The PPAI Expo Distributor-Hosted Buyer initiative at the 2012 PPAI Expo.

I was taking the shuttle bus from an off-site airport parking lot this week when I noticed a large poster on the window of the bus. "Like Us on Facebook! Tweet Us on Twitter! Watch Us on YouTube!" it beseeched travelers. Really? Will someone please tell these people that they're running a parking lot?

I'm not a snarky person, but I watch companies pant, like a dog chasing a truck, to have a big presence on social media, seemingly without pondering whether it's a good investment for them.