Social Media Streaming and How It Is Changing the Corporate World

Posted on by


It seems that everyone has a social media account today. Ask anyone between the ages of 13 and 35 and you�re likely to hear that they have multiple pages – one for each popular networking platform. With so much presence online, it�s no wonder that retailers and service providers are looking to take their advertisements and outreach online.

Internet advertisement isn�t the only way of doing this. Some of today�s most successful brands are using a tool that is available to nearly anyone and can make reaching prospective clients and consumers easier than ever before. This tool is the digital audiovisual broadcast, specifically those hosted by networking websites.

What Is Streaming Video?

BBC tells us that streamed media is any audiovisual content that is viewed or listened to live and in real time, rather than downloaded to the computer or device to enjoy later. This can consist of nearly any type of media, including videos, music and sound files and more. There are myriad online locations from which these files may be transmitted, but all of them are essentially internet-based broadcasts.

With the advent of the Facebook live stream video and other social media streaming platforms, people can reach out to one another in real time more easily than ever before. Communications companies such as BlueJeans strive to help clients understand how they can put this asset to work for them. There are as many applications for this resource as users can imagine. Just because it�s hosted by social media sites doesn�t mean it�s only purpose is socialization; the modern business owner can find many applications for it, as well!

Professional Applications

The most advantageous aspect of Facebook live video and other social media streaming services is that they are easy to tailor to the needs of businesses of any size. Whether it�s a small, independent entrepreneur reaching out to their clients or a major corporation making marketing moves, streaming video can assist in their efforts.

Both Social Media Examiner and Forbes have something to say on the matter of putting Facebook and other social media sites to work for today�s business needs. Some of these include:

  • Answering questions submitted beforehand during live sessions. This encourages viewership, as consumers may want the information as quickly as possible, especially if the response involves new products or services. Streams are a great way to introduce new content with an air of exclusivity while remaining publicly accessible.
  • Taking care of business, all at once. Replying to individual customer concerns, questions or messages can be time consuming. Streamed sessions allow representatives to respond to many issues at once and hold conversations with viewers that hold the interest of more people at once than previously possible in traditional advertisement.
  • Engaging directly with interested parties. So many brands today tease new products, offer advice on product use or service follow-ups or otherwise provide content to their viewers during broadcasts. In some formats, employees can also dialogue with viewers directly, providing a more personal touch and engaging customers fully.
  • Collecting and providing feedback on a real-time basis. This is important for improving products and services and consumer satisfaction.
  • Trend appeal. As mentioned previously, a large majority of the population already use social networks. With this built-in audience, it makes perfect business sense to meet these potential customers where they are and bring advertisement to the places where they already frequent.

There are many uses for social networking in the modern world, and that is certainly true of today�s marketing scene. With a consumer base that is relatively young overall, trend-wise technology and publicity tools are important for continuing corporate success. No tool is more trendy or easier to use than these websites and their included features.

Looking Forward to the Future

It is a virtual certainty that this resource will only continue to grow in popularity and preference among professionals as time move forward. With increasingly fast and reliable internet connections, higher quality videos will be made available and this rise in quality will create greater consumer satisfaction with that content. Once only available on a peer-to-peer basis, real-time content can now be broadcast to a wide audience which only grows as technology improves. Modern brands can advertise and reach out to potential customers on a large scale, making more positive impact on their target demographics than ever before.

Today�s business owner would be foolish not to reach out and take hold of the outreach tools that are now so accessible. Introducing these modern techniques into the advertising arsenal has had a positive effect on numerous businesses around the world, and will continue to do so in the years to come. Brands who have already put the features of these sites to work for them know this well, and those who are looking to improve need only look to the success of their peers in meeting their clients where they already are.

Mission Statement for Your Business

Posted on by

Magic of a Mission Statement – Small Business Instruction

When you create a business, you bring forth an entity which has its personality; a living thing. A mission statement expresses the essence of that personality and its nature of being. Defining your mission statement is not, therefore, an empty exercise. Rather it captures and radiates the core purpose of the business and serves as the driving force in everything you do.

Apart from the overarching opening I’ve just presented, why else would you spend time crafting a mission statement? The very act of thinking about your mission statement helps to clarify your business’s goals, standards, and values. These, in turn, form the foundation by which all interested parties know, understand and buy into your vision. And the foundation by which your company will flourish.

Of all the business planning elements, I believe this one provides the most direction. It pulls together disparate pieces and creates focus. Decision making becomes easy, as does strategy formulation. Your marketing messages appear clear and consistent. A strong mission invokes the company’s public voice. In other words, your communications and marketing materials speak in a way that reflects the character of every facet of your business.

A mission statement can be as short as a couple of words or as long as a few sentences. Make it vibrant. Make it mean something. Use active verbs and the active voice but most of all, make it inspire action. You want it to make a powerful impact.

Make your mission broad enough for expansion. Let me explain this by example. Take Starbucks; they could have had a mission: “To make the best coffee in the world”. It’s a decent enough statement, but it is limiting. See how their actual statement broadens the scope; “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time.” Do you see the difference? Without a doubt, Starbucks lives its mission, and the scope is wider than just coffee.

To get your thinking in gear, I have presented some questions. Take a look, think about them and write your answer. When you have finished, pick out the most important points and put together in one, two or three sentences. And lastly, find out what other people think before you finalise it.

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS

� Why am I in this business – what made me want to do this?
� What do I do – define who you are, what you offer, and price, quality?
� How do I do it – how am I different to the competition?
� Who do I serve – persona?
� What image do I want to portray – how do I want my business to be perceived
� What value do I provide?
� What are the defining characteristics of my business – what philosophies or values guide me?

� Event Management
� Campaign Management
� Copywriting
� Market analysis and strategic marketing planning
� Create/manage social media programme
� Create/manage your digital programme
� Create and implement a marketing communications strategy and plan
… and more.

Why Work With Me?

� Excellent subject matter expertise – skills, knowledge and experience
� Flexible, no-nonsense, outsourced marketing support for your business
� Passion for mastery and success
� Results driven
� Holistic viewpoint – working on business success and personal value congruence

Tips for Developing a Reliable Distribution System

Posted on by

Developing and distributing products to others may sound fairly simple on paper, but the reality is that there are plenty of challenges that make distribution much more difficult than it otherwise should be. If you’re thinking about starting a business that relies heavily on effective distribution, then you’ll want to know what to expect ahead of time. In order to help you prepare effectively, this guide will outline some of the biggest obstacles that are commonly associated with distributing to a wide range of clients, as well as some of the best tips for overcoming these challenges.

Make Sure Your Products are Environmentally Friendly

One of the most overlooked aspects of distribution is the environment. While it’s good for companies to design their services with the environment in mind, this tip is more focused on how the environment actually affects the business, rather than the other way around. Certain products can be negatively affected by the weather, especially in situations that involve extremely hot or cold environments. If you want to avoid environmental hazards from negatively impacting both you and your customer’s experience, then you’ll need to invest in safety features that protect your products from the elements.

Focus on Reliable Transportation

Reliable transportation is one of the most important aspects of any distribution system, as you don’t want to have to repeatedly explain to clients why their goods or materials haven’t arrived yet. Although you can try to develop a distribution system from scratch in order to save money, it’s usually better for new businesses to simply invest in another service that already takes care of that. For instance, some distribution companies even offer distribution testing as a means of determining exactly how effective the process is. This information is incredibly valuable, as it can help you figure out what is working and what isn’t.

Developing a distribution system from scratch can be an incredibly stressful process, but it’s not impossible. Hopefully, by following these tips, you’ll be able to gain some insight into the most challenging aspects of the business and understand how to better overcome them. If you still have concerns about building a new distribution system, then there are plenty of companies out there that will help you develop a testing method so that you can figure out exactly what direction you should take your company in.

Cloud Computing and Small Businesses

Posted on by

Many hosted services are offered over the web for a variety of business needs. The general term used to refer to all of these is cloud computing. Cloud computing allows online companies to use resources over the internet rather than build and maintain their own in-house infrastructures.

Cloud computing is a trendy term that can be heard everywhere these days. Simply put, it refers to storing and accessing information and applications over the web instead of getting them all stored on the hard drive of your computer.

Storing or running programs from your hard drive is called local storage. This means that everything you need is physically there with you, making access to data easy and fast, especially for the one computer and the others connected to it through a local network. This was how many industries functioned for a long time before the cloud came along.

The “cloud” refers to the internet. This calls back to the times in office presentations when the internet was represented by a puffy cloud that accepts and gives information as it hovers above everything.

You may be using cloud computing at some aspect of life without realising it. This applies to online services that you use to send email, edit your documents, stream films or TV shows, listen to music, play games online, or store files and images. Cloud computinga makes all these things possible behind it all.

The first services to use cloud computing are a couple of decades old, rising fast so that a wide range of organisations are already using the service. This includes startups to big corporations as well as non-profits and government agencies.

Cloud computing at a glance

According to a study by the IDC, 50% of information technology will transition to the cloud within 5-10 years. Among the industries that rely heavily on data are the financial sector, telecommunications, technology, health care, government, advertising, retail, gaming, energy and data services.

Furthermore, 82% of companies have found significant savings in moving to the cloud. 60% of businesses already make use of cloud-based IT for operations. 82% of companies are also planning for a multi-cloud strategy.

These stats show that cloud computing holds much promise as a rising industry as well as a valuable resource for companies to take advantage of.

Cloud solutions for business

There are three different types of cloud solutions that businesses can choose from to find the best fit – private cloud, hybrid cloud and public cloud. Each offer different features and benefits. But with each type, the end result stays the same: cloud computing can be done wherever you are, at any time.

Private cloud

Private cloud works in industries with concerns for privacy, including medium businesses and more established enterprises that need to meet standards for security and compliance.

One example is IoT companies, such as those who trace customers through their phones. Other examples include health data companies, e-commerce sites that store credit card data, industries with high intellectual property concerns, and companies that emphasise data sovereignty.

Private cloud is managed by an in-house team of IT personnel or by a private host.

Private cloud offers complete control and flexibility, enabling businesses to manage their own dedicated resources within a third party datacentre.

Hybrid cloud

Hybrid cloud is for companies that prefer the security offered by private cloud. This type of cloud solution is best for workloads that are highly dynamic and prone to changeability. This includes enterprises that can be split into two spheres, sensitive and non-sensitive.

Hybrid cloud also works best for businesses with seasonal data spikes, big data processing, and those with workloads involving API compatibility and requiring solid connection to a network. Hybrid cloud takes its name from the fact that it is managed by both in-house and external resources.

This mix of private and public clouds offer blending of such services as Office 365 for email with other applications that businesses don’t want to be made available in a shared environment.

Public cloud

Public cloud is for industries that have a significant amount of data with no major concerns for privacy. Companies that use this service opt for a pay-as-you-go structure. This type of cloud solution is managed by third party providers.

Industries that use public cloud include those in development and testing, development platform, training servers, one-off big data projects and websites with public information, product descriptions and brochures.

Public cloud is perfect for services, applications and storage that are made publicly available as well as those that use shared resources that are managed by the cloud provider.

How Can I Keep My Business Moving Forward In 2017?

Posted on by

2017 is almost half over. At this point, many business owners are examining their company’s progress thus far while also thinking about what changes can be implemented to ensure that the second half of the year is marked by substantive growth. Below you’ll find three tips you can implement now to keep your business moving forward this year:

1. Utilize Testing Services.

One great way to keep your business moving forward in 2017 is by using testing services. These services are designed to ensure that all of the commercial equipment being used in your facility works correctly. Taking this step will decrease the likelihood of accidents and injuries. In the event that you’re looking for a gas station testing ca company, note that the professionals of FASTECH’s Compliance Testing can assist you. Before you hire a testing company, be sure to go online and read the reviews that former and current customers have left about the business. This step will empower you to determine whether the testing company’s professionals are known for offering excellent, expedient services to all clients.

2. Develop A Strong Ecommerce Campaign.

Another strategy you can implement to make 2017 a time of incredible growth for your organization is developing a strong ecommerce campaign. Doing so can help you connect and convert prospects across the globe in a savvy, organic manner that helps your company earn and maintain a cutting edge image. Some of the digital services that can be used to engender these outcomes include social media optimization, responsive web design, content marketing, search engine optimization, and content marketing.

3. Purchase Printing Products To Advertise Offline.

While online advertising is immensely important in a society where online shopping has become the norm, it’s still advisable to use traditional marketing methodologies. This is the case because not everyone uses the internet. Moreover, advertising online and offline can help you optimize the brand recognition process by ensuring that prospects are learning about your product or service line in multiple spaces. One great traditional advertising methodology you should consider implementing is the use of printing products. Some of the products you may find advantageous for company growth include:

� Booklets
� Appointment Cards
� Brochures
� Catalogs
� Banners
� Coupons
� Door Hangers
� Envelopes
� Business Cards
� Forms
� Graphic Design
� Flyers
� Labels
� Invitations
� Letterhead
� Mailing Services
� Newsletters
� Tickets
� Postcards
� Manuals
� Posters
� Prescription Pads
� Rack Cards
� Presentation Folders
� Table Tents

Start Moving Forward Now!

Business objectives are realized through the consistent implementation of proven strategies. Three growth strategies that can help your company attain profound levels of expansion are outlined above. Start implementing them now so you can begin seeing results!

Faster Writing

Posted on by

Would you like to write a great blogpost or email in half the time without losing quality – and perhaps even making it better in the process?

Here’s how:

1: Create an outline. Your outline is your plan, and it’s going to make your entire task easier for 3 reasons:

a) Having a plan diffuses procrastination. When we look at a project our mind tells us it’s big – too big. This causes stress, which makes us want to avoid the whole thing. By having a plan, we can break the writing down into manageable, stress free steps.

b) Having a plan keeps you from wandering off topic. If you have a simple outline to follow, it’s just a matter of filling out each section of the outline. But without a plan, you could waste a great deal of time writing about things that in the end don’t even pertain to your main topic.

c) It makes research super easy. Once you have an outline, researching can be as simple as Googling each item on your outline. Without a plan, your research can lead you into never-ending time-wasting circles.

2: Once you’ve got your outline, set it aside for an hour or a day and let it bake in your brain.

By setting it aside, you can let your mind focus on something else. Meanwhile, your subconscious is still working on that outline. You’ll be surprised by what your subconscious gives you. All of a sudden you’ll realize you left out the most important part, or you’ve found a much better way to illustrate your main point.

3: Write every day. Writing, just like anything else, is a skill. The more you do it, the better and faster you will get.

Write even when you don’t ‘fee’ like it. As Stephen King has said, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.”

Or as another writer stated, “I wait for inspiration to strike. Fortunately for me, it strikes every day at 9 am.”

Even if you absolutely, positively do NOT want to write, tell yourself you’re going to write for just 15 minutes. Then start writing. You can write anything – anything at all – but you must write. Pretty soon you’ll be working on your project and wondering why you were feeling such resistance to something you actually enjoy.

4: Use deadlines in your favor. Without a deadline, there is no stress. With no stress, your brain puts off the task of writing for later. After all, writing takes brain power, effort, thinking and decision making – things your brain would rather put off until later. Or never.

But when you have a deadline, you have stress to get the job done. The closer the deadline, the more stress. To relieve the stress, you’ve got to get busy. Now your brain is telling you to, “Write right now!”

If self-imposed deadlines work for you, then you know what to do. If not, you’ll have to find a way to get others to hold you accountable for your deadlines. For example, telling your blog readers that your next post goes live on Tuesday at 10 am PST should work nicely.

No blog readers yet? Have a friend hold you accountable. If you don’t make your deadline, you owe them dinner.

5: Focus on the “feel goods.”Back when I had a regular job, I loved my days off. I especially loved them when I knew well in advance that they were coming.

But if I found out that morning that I wasn’t working, then half the joy of having time off was gone. There was no anticipation. No looking forward to that day off. Frankly, I felt ripped off if I didn’t know I wasn’t working until that same morning.

You can use this knowledge to self-motivate yourself. Think about how great it will feel to hit publish or send. Think about closing the file and doing something you love as a reward. Think about the accolades you’ll receive for finishing the project, or the money you’ll earn, or whatever it is that motivates you to keep working until you’re done.

6: Turn off the internet. Some folks, me included, tend to get distracted by the internet. We think we’re going to ‘sneak off’ for 5 minutes to check Reddit, and an hour later we still haven’t gotten back to work.

So whenever possible, just disconnect your wifi. Turn off your cell phone. Remove anything else that tends to distract you. And then go to work.

7: Speed up your typing. If you’re not able to type at least 50 words per minute, maybe it’s time you improved your typing skills.

It’s difficult when your thoughts are coming faster than your fingers can tap them out. But you have options:

� Type faster. There are plenty of free and paid courses online that will teach you how to touch type faster.

� Use a voice to text program such as Dragon Naturally.

� Record yourself and have it transcribed.

Writing by itself isn’t hard. It’s all the baggage we attach to it that makes it difficult. But if you can think of writing as simply assembling the pieces to a puzzle, you’ll do it much better and faster.

Error Messages in Windows

Posted on by

Windows is still the most popular operating system, but unfortunately it is not uncommon to receive an annoying error message box. When you receive an error in Windows, it is a good idea to research the reason behind it and find a solution. Here is a short guide how you can do it:
� When the error message box appears press Ctrl+C (copy). This should copy the content of the message along with the title
� Next, open Google search engine and press Ctrl+V (paste). This will paste the message into the search engine.
� Press enter in order to start the search and within a few minutes you will usually be able to find a solution for your problem.
The most important think is not to get frustrated, as errors might happen quite often.

Big Data and Its Role in Businesses

Posted on by

In case you have never come across the term big data, let me here shed some light on what it really is. The times have changed, and every day we produce zettabytes of information. It is for this reason that the term should not be overlooked by small and medium business owners as this is where the success lies.

In a nutshell, big data is everything that comes in the form of emails, CCTV videos, business transactions, social media content, various activity logs, photographs, etc. As you can see, the amount of the information can be rather enormous and when you look at idbs eln you will know exactly what I am talking about here. The key here is to analyze that sort of information and convert it into something usable, something that can help bigger as well as smaller companies get an edge over their competitors. By analyzing and converting the data, businesses can accomplish the following things that can help them to progress such as:

1. Track the changing market trends. In this day and age, trends change all the time, and it is of utmost importance to be able to stay abreast of the latest progress. Being behind in this area can leave a business isolated and unable to cope with the demanding market.
2. Discover who their most valuable customers are. Not all customers are equal. It can become clear who your best customers are and this way you can contact them more often hoping that they are going to buy from you again.
3. Gain insight into their competitors’ actions. This is something that does not require commenting. Information is key. Having the right type of information at the right time can make the difference between succeeding and failing.
4. Figure out the ways that can help them augment their business processes.

Challenges in the Workplace

Posted on by

Company owners often strive to make the working environment as pleasant as possible for their employees. They hope that in doing so, motivation within the firm will increase, which will boost employees’ performance and raise productivity. However, there are still many examples of workplace challenges that affect employees. Company owners should make it a point to be aware of these challenges and set up policies to handle the different issues.

1. Employee Engagement

Employees who are engaged at work feel connected with their organisation. They believe that the work that they produce is important, which motivates them to work harder. Additionally, employees who are engaged to the organisation are enthusiastic in the work that they produce for it. This will lead them to contribute actively to the organisation; they may even come up with ideas to further its market standing and reputation.

However, the lack of employee engagement is a key issue in several companies today. According to Gallop, this costs American businesses from $450 billion to $550 billion annually when absenteeism, workplace accidents and higher healthcare costs are taken into consideration.

In order for company owners to get their employees to be engaged with the organisation, they need to communicate effectively. For instance, they can initiate a culture of communication where the managers and the employees under them share common goals that they hope to work towards as a team. It is also crucial that they organise training sessions and regular meetings with their staff. Essentially, these will be a good platform for them to get to know each staff member better. These gatherings are also a good opportunity for company owners to present the company’s vision to employees, which will give them assurance that their work is important and valuable to the organisation.

2. Time Management

A difficulty that many employees encounter is prioritising their work, especially when they are faced with an overwhelming pile of responsibilities. For this reason, time management plays a critical role in the workplace. In fact, the ability to manage one’s time effectively will make the individual more productive.

In order for employees to possess good time management, they need to first be certain of their own role and responsibilities in the office. This will help them to understand the urgency of each task, which will lead them to prioritise their work more effectively. Company owners must also ensure that new employees fully understand the tasks that have been assigned to them. Additionally, it is important that each staff member knows what is expected of them and is able to handle their responsibilities efficiently while making minimal errors.

3. High employee turnover

According to a global study performed by the management consultancy Hay Group, the employee turnover rate in Singapore is set to increase. Losing employees that performed poorly or were negative influences in the workplace will have positive effects on the company. However, unplanned and frequent employee turnover will reflect badly on any organisation. This is often because high labour turnover suggests that the company is not selecting the right employees, failing to provide employees with a positive work environment and/or losing out to other employers who are able to offer better pay and benefits.

To reduce employee turnover, company owners must set the suitable compensation and benefits. They should also try to provide employees with a rewarding work environment. Ultimately, staff members crave recognition from their managers. They are also likely to want to be offered a more challenging position in the firm that will allow them to realise their potential in their workplace.

In conclusion, companies need to deal with the key challenges the affect the current workplace effectively. This will help them to be successful even during seasons of poor economic outlook. It is also crucial to note that it is not only the duty of the company owner to help the firm to thrive amidst these challenges. In fact, a positive change in the firm can only be brought about when every employee chooses to brainstorm ideas on how it can work towards solving these issues.

Nigerian Confidence Trick

Posted on by

Do you want to be rich? Most of us want to be rich, but even if we are rich according to the world�s standards, we still want more and more money. Many people are aware of this human nature, and some of them would do anything to cheat other people out of their money. This is basically how the Nigerian confidence trick scams emerged. Nigerian confidence trick is sometimes also called an advance fee fraud. Such scams are based on the fact that the target is persuaded to advance relatively small sums of money in the hope of realizing a much larger gain. There are even some movies which plot revolves around the Nigerian confidence trick. A good example would be the Hustle TV series where in various episodes greedy people are often tricked into investing small amount of money in hopes of realizing a much larger gain. Of course, anyone can be scammed this way, and this involves many innocent people. Do not be fooled by such scams, as it is easy to lose your hard earned money. Remember that there are a lot of scammers on the Internet, and you should be careful with whom you are doing business.