Raise and Re-Energize Your Business Metabolism

Is your business metabolism a little low or sluggish? It takes a lot of energy to keep up. Technology, business, consumer and career trends continue to change and develop at lightning speed. Not to mention the changing demographics of people you market to.

Are you targeting the right people? Is your branding and visual marketing fresh and engaging? Are you using the best practices, tactics and technology for who you need to reach?

As with most trends, following and sticking with them through their cycles is super important so you can best leverage and benefit from them.

Below are a few trends that stand out for me that I believe will pave the way for the coming year:

• Networking: “80% of jobs are not posted on job boards, but are in the hidden job market accessed only through networking.”
• Social Recruitment: Current College graduates (PDF) social media use is 83% Facebook, 54%Twitter and 83% LinkedIn (with 70% saying LinkedIn is the most effective.)
• Marketing to Gen Y: They will be 75% of the workforce by 2025.
• Marketing to Baby Boomers:  Aging Baby Boomers are still dominant.
• Creating Great Customer Experiences: It’s no longer just about the 4Ps: Price, Production, Promotion, and Place.

Brian Solis, Author of “What’s the Future of Business (WTF)” says:

“The future of business is about creating experiences, products, programs and processes that evoke splendor and rekindle meaningful and sincere interaction and growth.”

Authenticity and Attitude

Be authentic, real and approachable with who you are both online and in person. Develop a consistent attitude of gratitude, kindness and positivity which is highly magnetic. Demonstrate how you process through your challenge and success offering solutions and hope.

Make a Stand with Your Professional Brand

Invest in visual marketing tools.  This includes logo, website and branded company materials to unify your images and messaging across all platforms. Refresh and rejuvenate what you currently have to keep pace with current technologies and Web platforms.

This tells people you are serious, relevant and ready to do business.

Trends, Consumer Demand, Selling

A thorough review of how your products and services serve your current customers, the market and changing demographics is essential. Don’t lose sight of or get lazy about your changing customer and how they want to be sold to and receive content and information.

If something isn’t working, be realistic about improving it, reinventing it or letting it go.

Delivery of Information, Products and Services

Evaluate how you deliver your content, products and services, based on your demographics, and the ways your customers want to be engaged. Survey them regularly to find out what they use and where they congregate.

Creating the customer experience that you want to be remembered for assures better retention and longevity. What better approaches can you use to raise customer expectations for faster, smarter, better sales and referrals?

Monitor your competition for what they are (and are not) doing.

An Integrated, Blended Networking Approach

We live work and play equally in two worlds - in person and online. Get out in front of your company in person and get more personal in meeting people.

Use social media pillars to engage, especially on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and incorporate blogging and email marketing into your plan. Get very serious and active with this blended approach, as it will be the key to smart connections. They are the “tools of the trade” today.

Plan on quarterly reviews of how your plans and goals are unfolding. Be nimble, flexible and willing to change directions when needed. Research and use all the resources, tactics, human capital and best practices that are available today to keep up, grow and get ahead. Your consistency and commitment will build the same in your customers.

What areas do you need to re-energize to raise your business metabolism?

Rejoice Photo via Shutterstock

Verizon Plans to Acquire Content Delivery Network EdgeCast

Communications companies like AT&T, Sprint and others are beginning to understand the value of data transfer to their businesses.

So it’s not that surprising to hear the news that Verizon plans to acquire content delivery network EdgeCast.

The details of the sale have not been disclosed, but TechCrunch reports the deal may be worth more than $350 million.

EdgeCast provides a global network of servers offering speed, security and scalability for websites of all sizes, according to the company’s website.

The company’s services are supposed to allow even the smallest Web-based businesses to grow and smoothly handle increases in traffic. Other services include protection from cyber attacks and the ability to use complex Web applications without performance issues, the EdgeCast website explains.

The company has built a reputation on helping online startups and smaller companies without their own network resources handle changes in their digital content demands as they grow. Here’s an overview by Ted Middleton, Vice President of Product Marketing for EdgeCast.

Verizon expects the acquisition to strengthen its ability to handle content, particularly for its business customers. In an official announcement on the company’s website, Bob Toohey, president of Verizon Digital Media Services says:

The combination of EdgeCast and Verizon Digital Media Services will allow us to fully exploit and accelerate growth in Internet media consumption and online business performance. EdgeCast’s industry-leading technology and strategically placed assets, combined with Verizon Digital Media Services’ video solutions, improves our ability to deliver the rich, reliable and quality digital media services that our customers have come to expect.

Verizon says it intends to integrate EdgeCast’s services into its own, but has not been specific about whether the company’s existing services will also remain in tact.

Founded in 2006 and based in Santa Monica, Calif., EdgeCast has grown to nearly 300 employees and serves about 6,000 customers worldwide.

Verizon Communications Inc. is headquartered in New York City and delivers business solutions to clients in 150 countries. The company employees a workforce of 178,300.

image: Wikipedia

Beyonce’s Two Social Content Marketing Lessons: Direct To Customers and Get Others to Amplify

Beyonce’s Two Social Content Marketing Lessons: Direct To Customers and Get Others to Amplify

IT Lessons You Can Learn From The Healthcare.gov Experience

It was a frustrating situation for Americans. Healthcare.gov, the site launched in early October that was supposed to ease, educate and transition America into shopping for insurance plans. Good in theory. In application, a harshly criticized website burdened with bugs, errors and delays.

Users were quick to take to social media sharing stories. The media dug its heels into the site and explored everything from its blank drop-down menus to its “Your Account Cannot Be Created At This Time” messages. The site was thus dubbed a failure.

President Barack Obama pledged to ‘stamp out the gremlins’ plaguing his administration’s signature healthcare overhaul. Publicly, the President stated:

“Nobody is madder than me about the website not working as well as it should, which means it’s going to get fixed.”

Healthcare.gov was more than the website that sparked a standing-room-only Congressional hearing. It was an example of how things can go very wrong, very fast, when the proper care to IT project planning is not demonstrated.

Stepping back and looking at Healthcare.gov and its myriad of technical glitches, what Healthcare.gov lessons about IT project management can businesses learn?

From selecting a proper IT vendor to ensuring usability principles are guiding the way, Healthcare.gov is a cautionary tale and a reminder of the importance of superior IT project management.

Lesson 1:  Select Your IT Vendor…Wisely

When selecting an IT vendor, research their performance stringently. Do due diligence, ask questions. Outstanding IT vendors will demonstrate leadership abilities and a rock solid track record.

Don’t be impressed by tech babble - be impressed if the IT vendor is asking questions to gain an understanding of the needs of your business and the expectations and requirements of your project.

Ask about certifications. Grill them on successes in comparable projects. Demand references and investigate the ones provided. There are exceptional IT companies out there - find them.

Lesson 2: Trust Your IT Project Champion

An IT project champion is the hero that ensures project management is seamless from start to finish - regardless of the size and scope of a project.

IT project champions oversee everything from requirement evaluations to stakeholder communications,  prioritizing project phases, allocating resources and diligently maintaining an accurate project scope. An IT project champion should be someone with the technical expertise to understand all elements of a project, including best practices for everything from custom software development to Web design.

If a project is going to succeed - whether the project is a website design for a local bakery or a massive undertaking for say, Uncle Sam - a trusted IT project champion with exceptional IT consulting experience makes all the difference.

Lesson 3: Usability Awareness

Each IT project - whether software development or responsive Web design - brings its own set of requirements and most times these requirement are quite complex. The goal is always to ensure that projects are delivered on time and that they meet and exceed customer expectations.

This is an intentional process, to define, determine and develop software and Web applications that are graphically beautiful and robust with functionality. This intentional process is very much a hallmark of how effective, efficient IT companies operate - usability principles.

The process of building a new software system or new website can seem daunting for any business, especially if they have never attempted to do so previously. That is why usability principles must be in place to ensure deliverables, such as websites, use simple language, boast easy to identify and understand main functions and receive proactive feedback.

Websites should be consistent in appearance and behavior, allowing users to quickly and easily accomplish their goals, with minimal effort and minimal clicks. The user experience is extremely critical - keeping things simple is paramount.

Whether it’s a standard website or a full-blown application with back-end portals - the user experience on the system should always be seamless, convenient and successful.

Final Thoughts

When launching a new IT project - website design, custom software solution, mobile app campaign or even the adoption of cloud technologies -  make sure your IT vendor is selected with scrutiny and care.

The winning IT vendor should be one laced with exceptional IT project champions well versed in the business technologies vital to ensuring a successful project implementation.

Lastly, the IT vendor and IT project champion should consistently uphold respect for the user experience, delivering a system, solution or website that is not only robust with functionality, analytics and resources - but one that is easy for people to understand, navigate and optimize.

Headache Photo via Shutterstock

Sales Lessons From Best Buy: Embrace Your Quirks And Turn Competitor’s Asset to a Weakness

What I love about content marketing is that there are so many tools and apps out there to help small businesses do more with less effort. We’re all strapped for time and cash, so any tool that can maximize marketing results is worth giving a second look.

When it comes to trying to spread your content to a wider audience and tweak your message so it’s most effective, these tools make it simple.

Facebook Insights

If you haven’t looked at Insights for your business’ Facebook Page in a while, you might be surprised at how much better the details are. Now you can not only see how many people are “talking about” a post you published, but also what actions they’re taking, such as liking, sharing, clicking, or commenting on it.

You also get a scorecard that measures positive actions (like the ones I just mentioned) and negative ones, such as someone hiding your posts or unliking your page. You can see which posts generated the most interest and plan your update schedule accordingly.

mention

Google Alerts is great and all, but sometimes it falls short when it comes to mentions on social media or even blog comments. That’s where mention comes in handy. Set up keyword alerts and find out whenever anyone mentions your name or brand, be it in a blog post, the comments section, on a website, or on a social platform. You can even respond to a tweet or update from within the mention platform.

Vine

You can’t deny that video is taking a bigger presence in the content marketing world these days. As a small business owner, maybe you’re not sure how you can effectively use video to engage with your audience.

Vine allows you to make 6-second looping videos. It’s a fantastic place to start. Making short videos requires virtually no investment (you probably already have a smartphone, so that’s your video camera). You don’t have to involve a professional videographer, and sometimes the simplest, roughest videos are the most successful.

MessageBuilderâ„¢

Even if you don’t consider yourself design-savvy, you have no excuse for not creating professional-looking and appealing email campaigns. You don’t need HTML or design experience to use the iContact MessageBuilder™  built into the email marketing platform. You can choose from a variety of email templates and images, and then customize to match your company colors (and if you do have design or HTML experience, you can use the MessageCoder™ to get the job done).

BizSugar

You’ve probably heard of Digg and StumbleUpon. But did you know there’s a social bookmarking site dedicated to promoting small business content? If you want to get your blog posts and articles in front of business owners, BizSugar does the job. Submit content you want others to read, and they can give a “sugar” to those posts they deem worthy. If your post makes the “hot” list (that happens after you reach a threshold of sugars) it gets even more exposure. It’s also a great tool for discovering useful content for yourself.

I could update this list every week with new and innovative tools that help me market my business more smartly. But for now, find the ones that work the best for your company and use them to maximize your reach.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

Yahoo Mail Was Down. So What? Only Shortsighted Executives Will Panic about Cloud Computing

Yahoo Mail Was Down. So What? Only Shortsighted Executives Will Panic about Cloud Computing

Smarty Ring Raises Almost $300,000 in Crowdfunding

It may look like something out of a fantasy story about magic rings and wizards. But the makers of the new “Smarty Ring” seem quite serious.

In fact, they have already raised $299,824 in crowdfunding via Indigogo (well above a more modest $40,000 goal) to make the product a reality.

It’s the latest in a series of wearable technology including Google Glass and smartwatches. The device is meant essentially as a way to manage your smartphone or other mobile device.

Smarty Ring Features

Developers say users will be able to receive call, text, email and chat notifications, all without ever touching their smartphones.

You would also be able to accept or reject incoming calls: Something pretty important during a business meeting!

There’s a speed dial function, which would presumably start dialing a programmed number before you’ve even fished your phone out of your pocket or purse. And you would also get social media updates too, developers claim.

Check out a brief overview video with more of the features mentioned.

Again, the device is clearly in many ways an accessory for your smartphone similar to a smartwatch (though even smaller and theoretically even less intrusive, of course.)

Developers say it will solve the problem of people supposedly checking their smartphone up to 150 times per day, a statistic quoted in promotional information.

To the degree this is true (or not) for you, especially in your daily business life, you could use the ring as a way to keep updated without needing to constantly glance at a mobile device.

Availability

The Smarty Ring will be available for both Android and Apple devices (including both the iPhone and iPad) at a retail cost of $275. However, no specific date for availability has been announced.

Contributors of $175 or more in the recently closed Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign will receive their devices by April 2014, according to developers.

The device is waterproof stainless steel with LED display. And a battery charger for both ring and accompanying smartphone will also be available.

image: Indiegogo

Sales Lessons From Best Buy: Embrace Your Quirks And Turn Competitor’s Asset to a Weakness

Last Minute Tips to Get Your Employees in the Holiday Spirit

It’s too late to plan a big company holiday party - and you and your staff have been too busy to deal with it. Now, all the venues you wanted are booked up and the caterers are busy. No worries.

Below are 6 last-minute ideas you can still pull together in time to celebrate the season with your team and get your employees in the holiday spirit.

Volunteer

Celebrate the season by giving back to your community. Does your business already have a local charity or community group you work with? Do you or your employees have favorite causes that you love to help out?

If so, find out what these organizations are doing and what they need help with this time of year. If not, check your local newspapers’ listings or talk to your chamber of commerce, Lions, Kiwanis or Rotary club to find out how you can help.

Also think outside the box: Homeless shelters often have more volunteers than they can handle at Thanksgiving or Christmas, but charities such as animal shelters or battered women’s centers may be less swamped.

Eat and Be Merry

Have a potluck lunch at your business where everyone brings in a traditional holiday dish.

Or get creative: Have staff members bring in food from their family heritage, set a theme like Mexican or Cajun cuisine, or do a dessert bake-off where everyone brings in a sweet treat. (Bonus: You’re sure to have leftovers people can take home).

Be sure to decorate festively and plan for appropriately themed music and silly games. Put an enthusiastic employee or employee committee in charge, give them a budget and see what they come up with.

Secret Santa

There’s still time to put together a Secret Santa exchange. Keep it affordable (under $20 or even $10) so no one feels put upon. You can make it more fun by doing a Secret Santa grab where everyone gets three chances to “steal” a gift from someone else.

Holiday Contests

Hold an ugly holiday sweater or holiday costume contest where everyone dresses up. Offer prizes for the winner(s) such as gift cards to local retailers or restaurants. Or have a cubicle decorating contest to see who can come up with the most over-the-top desk décor.

Take Time Off

If you don’t have time to plan an event, chances are your employees are as stressed out and as overloaded as you are. If your business schedule allows, consider giving everyone an afternoon off with pay. They’ll appreciate some extra time to get their holiday shopping done or just catch up on all the obligations of this time of year.

See You Next Year

Instead of stressing about not having a holiday party, why not plan a New Year’s celebration?

Rates for venues and caterers are likely to be lower after the holidays, and you’ll have more options available to you. Plus, you and your team will be more relaxed once the holiday rush is over.

Bonus: In addition to looking back at the past year, a post-New Year’s party gives you a reason to look ahead and get everyone psyched up about the plans you’ve got for even greater business success in the coming year.

This article, provided by Nextiva, is republished through a content distribution agreement. The original can be found here.

Office Party Photo via Shutterstock