Picture Yourself As Small Business Owner of the Year

Need a shot of motivation?  How about seeing yourself on the cover of Fast Company as Small Business Owner of the Year?

Yes, that’s me in the image.  And no, I’m not really on the cover of Fast Company. I only look like I made the cover, because I used the Hiscox Reactor.

Hiscox, an insurance company that focuses on small business coverage, has launched an interactive “experience.” It gives you a multimedia presentation and at the end, presents you with an image of yourself on the cover of Fast Company.

Hiscox says, “Every action has a reaction. Launch the Reactor and see how every decision you make in life and business are all connected, and the amazing places they can take you.”  Kevin Kerridge, Head of Small Business for Hiscox USA calls it a “visual voyage through each individual’s past experience.”

Using the Reactor makes you feel like you are a ball moving through a Rube Goldberg machine â€" or, as some might call it, a 3D pinball sculpture or gravitram. The online experience lasts about a minute and a half.

You log in in using your LinkedIn profile. It pulls some of your data from LinkedIn to personalize it. For instance, at one point it shows profile pictures of some of your LinkedIn connections.  Here are two of my connections:  Andy Birol on the left peeking out from under Shashi Bellamkonda.

The entire thing reinforces the Hiscox brand.  For instance, it almost exclusively uses the Hiscox corporate colors of black, red and white.

There’s even a built-in advertisement for Hiscox â€" although it is understated.  As your pinball is moving through life, it comes to a part where you run into a problem. You start going down, down, down and almost fall into a “major setback” black hole (see screenshot below).  And then you see a mobile phone that says incoming call from Hiscox â€" and at the last minute you are saved from an irrecoverable fate â€" presumably by having Hiscox insurance coverage.

After you get back on the track of success, you roll the down the red carpet. You end up under the spotlight as “Business Owner of the Year.”

You can choose different versions of the presentation â€" for entrepreneurs, consultants, creative people, architect/engineers, real estate or technology professionals.  And at the end you can be directed to a page with selected informational resources, depending on the industry you selected.

It’s a short diversion from your workday, and may give you a shot in the arm.  After all, who doesn’t want to see his or her name and face on the cover of a magazine?

To see for yourself how it works, you go to Reactor.Hiscox.com.

How Best to Motivate a Large Team of Workers

Being in charge of a large group of people at work can be a daunting task. Different personalities and different attitudes can often clash. So it’s equally important for the company, the employees and indeed the manager, that the workforce is motivated to succeed and work well together.  But how do you motivate a large team of employees?

Below are four tips for ensuring that your large workforce are all pulling together - in the right direction.

Hold Meetings

Meeting Photo via Shutterstock

Meetings for the sake of meetings are not popular and are generally considered a waste of time.

However, holding meetings where you can update your team on company developments can be helpful. They can often be a good opportunity to reward individual success and good work.

Holding over for a drink on a Friday afternoon often works too, allowing workers to bond with each other and you to bond with them as well.

Reward Performance - Not Position

Reward Photo via Shutterstock

When you’re at the bottom of the pile in the workplace, it can be very discouraging to see senior workers being praised and given benefits. Everyone knows that the work carried out by the juniors, while not as glamorous, is equally important to business success.

Giving juniors reasons to perform well will aid your business - and see them striving to reach their next promotion.

Make Work Fun!

Fun Photo via Shutterstock

Perhaps this is too obvious, but making work a fun environment leads to positive spirits and a high level of performance.

We’re by no means suggesting you give employees too many distractions, but the occasional laugh, joke, table tennis tournament or similar fun event will enable workers to bond and feel more like a team - and we all know the benefits of teamwork.

Speak to Your Staff

Employee Photo via Shutterstock

We’ve mentioned holding team meetings, but it’s equally important to spend regular time with individual staff. This enables you to deal with any issues they have, give individual tips and advice, and set short term and long term targets that will give each worker a good incentive to perform well.

These meetings should be a two way street, though - enabling staff to give you their ideas as to how the company can perform better.

Staff motivation is essential to the success of any business. But large businesses, including large call centers, often benefit more than most from good motivation.

Success thrives on high spirits and positive attitudes - so keeping your staff focused and motivated is key to your company’s success.

Seek “Instagram Power” if You Want to Engage Customers with Images

To be a business book that belongs in the pantheon of excellent business practices, a book must avoid banal details. It must drive to the heart of what makes its subject worth reading about, let alone writing about.

Jason Miles, author of Instagram Power: Build Your Brand and Reach More Customers with the Power of Pictures, has written such a book. If there were a vote into the business pantheon, I would give mine without hesitation. It’s that much of a must read.

Miles is co-founder and marketer at Liberty Jane Clothing, as well as a Vice President for Advancement at Northwest University.  He is already a successful author on social media, with his previous book Pinterest Power.

I learned about the book while reviewing the newest releases on NetGalley.

Learn Instagram Basics To Learn a Solid Social Media Strategy

Instagram is at the head of the pack for building interest through images. Miles notes a comScore metric that Instagram outpaced Twitter in 2012 in terms of active users. Facebook also owns Instagram. Such ownership makes for a powerful combination. Facebook has also been noted for its growing mobile presence. But Instagram can hold its own, as Miles notes a Marketing Land statistic that “over 50 percent of top brands are now using Instagram.”

There’s good digital history explained in Instagram Power, including how the iPhone played a part. All of it weaves a good tale of how we - consumers and small businesses owners alike - arrived at this moment of tweets and “selfies.”  I loved this book for how the chapters explain Instagram and compare it to other platforms.

Miles notes how likes, commenting and sharing are similar to other platforms, yet notes the limits. The fact that you can’t use clickable URLs on Instagram, for example, caught my attention most. It was phrased well to make clear the difference between Instagram and Twitter.

Miles assails poor social media assumptions, such as the business value of social media productivity and the benefits that can result.  For example, check out this quote about what to do on Instagram:

Followers on Instagram expect you to publish a few pictures a day - that’s it. They appreciate it when you like their photo, and are blown away when you leave a comment.

See how he simplifies the expectation. Even better, he provides useful signposts to manage those expectations well. For example, he outlines an assessment, the 5-10-20 test.  It is an intriguing means to determine if selling on Instagram, or social media in general, matches your business model.  The numbers represent the number of customers, number of products and pricing premium, all in that order. The concept represents his view of platform differences, which Miles knows well.

See how in this quote he compares Instagram with Pinterest, once again to guide usage expectations:

As with Pinterest, Instagram is “social media lite” meaning that culture is not very conversational and no one expects you to do much talking. The social network is technically built on a real-time sharing concept, because users share images in a timeline-based system…Even though the conversations are less frequent, there is a culture of sharing and engagement that has real power.

Concepts to Make Your Selfie More Sharable

Not everyone applies great photography techniques, at least not with a photo bomb or selfie. But Miles does explain the key ingredients for creating a great image.

Miles explains the 12 common buying triggers.   These triggers are emotions that should be sparked by a photo, such as love, desire and urgency.

Miles notes that these triggers are used everywhere. But they are used to spark curiosity and to encourage sharing, not just to manipulate.

The best teachers are usually good comedians. The best baristas at Starbucks know your name and make you feel included in the community. The best pastors are amazing at telling jokes, parables and related stories…You can see these examples every day, in every industry.  Shaping peoples emotional response is part of influencing them.

What’s excellent in this book is how it inspires strategy ideas not limited to the Instagram universe but relatable to how your business operates.  Given the growth in mobile, Miles hits a home run in encouraging engagement with customers.

A few power tips round out the chapters in the book. Also nice are the examples from small businesses and entrepreneurial pursuits of all kinds. We learn how Laura Lawson, a young artist and author, makes effective images, while another segment notes the value non-profits can gain.

I really liked Instagram Power. It has my “Business Pantheon” vote without hesitation. Whether you are an Instagram newbie or long-time photo warrior, you will find Instagram Power worth the read. With it you will have enough ways to increase your Insta-sophistication instantly.